A New Kind of Trapped
by Whovian123
Summary: Three years ago I suffered through the worst day of my life, which is saying something considering the usual standard of my day. Three years ago I had to read a note detailing the circumstance of my parent's death. Now here I am today, stuck on a boat, being threatened by a madman, and looking in to the eyes of my decidedly not dead parents.
1. Chapter 1

**So, I was studying, and then bam, out of nowhere this story pop****s into my mind, I've been mulling it over for the last month or so and finally have enough of it worked out that i am going to start posting it. it will have many chapters, most longer than this one. In fact, just consider this a prologue, or a reintroduction at the characters as i view them. I hope you enjoy.**

**-Whovian123**

**Disclaimer: i do not own frozen or Disney. **

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"Do you wanna build a snowman?"

I jolt upright in a flash. Scattering royal documents everywhere as I scramble out of the straight-backed chair which I was napping in moments ago. Sleep clings to my eyes but I cast it away as my power rises up inside of me, roiling and aggressive, leaking out of me, in this moment it is utterly uncontrollable. Icicles shoot from my hands, sending everything around me flying into walls and windows. Where am I? Am I stuck in my room again, shut away from the world, secrets crushing me, leaving me empty and cold?

No, the oak desk which I have knocked over is not part of my rooms' usual decor. It is from my study. I am in my study, the study which had once been my fathers, and had moments ago been my temporary bedroom. Casting my gaze around said study I notice furniture scattered everywhere, along with royal documentation. My stomach itches at the thought that I have just lost control; I had let my feelings takeover for just a second, now icicles hang from the ceiling, and a slick layer of frost coats the walls.

My nails bite into the flesh of my palms as I clench my hands, trying in what feels like a hopeless effort, to pull my powers deep into me and away from the surface where the can do the most damage. I cannot afford slip-ups, slip-ups are bad, and slip-ups are dangerous. At least this lapse in control only caused furniture related casualties, next time I will not be so lucky. I cannot let there be a next time.

Anna's voice pierces the stillness in the room once again along with sharp raps to my door. She asks me if I would like to build a snowman. One quick look out the window tells me that it is far too late for anything other than sleeping; however I make my way through the jungle of toppled furniture I know that I shall not be able to say no, though I shall try my best.

"Anna it's late." I complain as I swing open the heavy door allowing her entrance. She does not hesitate for even a second and waltzes straight into my study.

"I know, but-" Her chatter stops as she looks around at the frosty damage my study has so recently acquired. "You're definitely under too much stress." She quickly concludes. "Princesses orders are to build a snowman." She's been worrying about me and I am tempted to humor her just for tonight and perhaps build a snowman, but I have lots of documents left to sign and too many forms to read over.

"You should be in bed." I counter, without missing a beat. Nevertheless I cannot deny that Anna is right, the level of stress I am under is matched only by the volume of paperwork I have to sift through routinely. I do need a break, or another nap.

"But, the skies awake…" Anna trails off looking at me with expectant eyes.

"So you're awake." I finish her little motto for her and can't keep a slight smile off my face. "Ok, one snowman, just one. After that you have to go to bed, you need your rest." Lord only knows when we will get to sleep, as I very much doubt the snowman making will stop at one.

"So do you." Anna shoots back at me with heavy implications; she knows I've been up late. I don't really get all that much sleep anymore, I have to work long into the nights filing though trade treaties and signing documents for royal visits.

Anna reaches for my hand intending to pull me along the hallways and into the ballroom where we can go about this snowman building business. I flinch and pull my hand away, afraid that I am not yet under control. The revelations I had made seven months earlier about my power has not left me in complete control over them, but had reduced the chaos that followed me. She understands of course, Anna may not know what it is to have such a constant volatile feeling about you, but she understands why I don't allow her to take my hand and pull me down the hallways, as usual, and why I walk to the ball room instead of the typical running.

The ballroom is magnificent and full of splendor, with sweeping pointed windows and archways gracing the walls, and ceilings so tall I doubt any creäture in any fairy-tales would be able to reach them. Anna and I stand in the center, our feet resting against the patchwork of polished wood grain. Anna looks to me, waiting without words until I feel it is safe enough to release my magic, to let just enough slip out and keep the rest buried deep. I relax my chest and let my power out of its cage. My hands rest, open palmed, in front of me, frost leaks out with zeal, swirling though the air, and licking its way across the ground. I smile, it's such a free, weightless feeling not having to hold it in and keep it back, but I do, I have to hold it back a bit. I have to keep it back just enough to have it under firm control.

Anna's awe is obvious in her features. She is by no means new to my powers, but it still manages to light up her face when it's not dangerous. I cannot let it get dangerous. My hands snap shut and the frost and snow stop. We have more than enough blanketing the varnished wooden floor to make a snowman, or maybe two.

We waste no time and jump right into the snowman building; we roll up the bodies, shape and smooth the heads, then scavenge around for the arms and faces. None of the snowmen we build have the sentience of Olaf. He is an exceptional creation, one which I doubt I could ever manage to duplicate. I doubt my ability to recreate him based on how inadvertent is existence is, he was crafted by me of course, but he being alive is an inexplicable miracle, a miracle which now lives in the castle causing chaos alongside Anna.

The floor has been coated in a delicate layer of icy snow and I can't hold back a snicker as Anna slips and winds up on the floor. "Oh please." She huffs at me once she has regained a modicum of her composure. "If you weren't all magical and icy, you would fall too."

"Not with my Queenly Elegance." I explain right before I fall on my back. After pushing the stray hair from my face, I see that Anna is sitting across from me trying to hide her sniggering. She must have kicked my legs out from under me. That cheeky girl was going to be the death of me, though it was not a death I would complain about. We descend into a giggling snow fight that leaves the ballroom in an awful state. I feel guilty for the water damage we cause but I cannot bring myself to regret it. For all the years I spent in isolation I deserve some slip ups and late night snow fights, don't I?

Several hours of giggling pass and eventually even Anna cannot continue to resist the call of sweet and silky slumber. I let the snow disappear, and we part ways with quick smiles and two long yawns. Then I make my way to my bedroom; all thoughts of the unsigned documents lying on the floor of my study have long since been pushed to the back of my mind. The halls still feel unfamiliar to me; I was not permitted to leave my room for any reason during my seclusion and as a result I still find myself backtracking on occasion and drawing out maps in my head.

In the end I reach my door, it is the one thing that is, thankfully, very familiar. I often ran out of ways to keep busy during my childhood and took to staring at my tall hardwood door, wondering what was going on outside my room, out in the real world. The real world, as it turned out, wanted to know just as much about what was happening behind my door as I did about the other side. Ever since my coronation I had been grilled by countless nobles, about where I had spent the last thirteen years, and what I had been doing. I always brush the inquiries away; I hadn't the time to indulge aristocracies in the torments of my early life.

Resolving to think of aristocrats no more, I push through my door and into my bedroom. The air that hits my face is sharp and cold; it clams me, it always has and I suspect it always will. I have very little of sentimental value in my room, no trinkets of any kind. Empty navy walls stare at me while I sleep, and bare furniture mocks my poor self-control. Still for all the things that are less the desirable in a bedroom it is still one of the few places where I feel a vague sense of ease.

Nothing about my bed is softer than a typical bed, but that does not stop me from falling into it and wrapping myself in several blankets. The blankets are incidental, I am never cold and do not believe I am capable of feeling so, yet I still find solace in the tight embrace they give. Perhaps it is that they are so similar to hugs, something which my childhood lacked. I didn't blame anyone though; it was dangerous to be in a room with me, much less to come in contact with me. For those reasons, I was never allowed to be too near my parents, as king and queen they had to be protected from all potential threats, even if that threat was their daughter. Despite all the logic and reasons I still regret the way I said goodbye to them. Had I known it would be the last time I saw them I would have risked it and hugged them, but I didn't know, no one could have ever known.

I push the morbid thoughts from my mind; for they will do me no good. Then, with a deep breath that tests my lungs, I let myself get lost in the blankets, they are my safe haven, where I can let my mind be free, where I can relax and drift into oblivion. Down pillows cradle my head and in the moments before I drift off into thoughtlessness I feel like a small child being rocked by their mother. Then my senses dull and sleep overtakes me in a wave of comforting darkness.

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**I expect to have another chapter up for ****Thursday, so let me know what you think of it so far, not that all the much has happened. **


	2. Chapter 2

**So I have a nice block of chapters written ahead of time, and wanted to get something a little more plot-ish out there for you all to read. Also Oaf will show up a bit (Not just in this chapter). I like the idea of him and Elsa having a relationship like a mother and her son, technically she is his mother.**

**-Whovian123**

**Disclaimer: I do not own frozen or Disney. **

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I wake up a little later that I would have preferred, though I do enjoy the slight energy boost that comes from sleeping more than four hours. I de-tangle myself from my blankets and stretch my coiled and stiff muscles. I notice sunlight streaming in from my windows as I approach them intending to gauge the weather and the day. To my delight I find the world blanketed in snow. The mountains tower above my kingdom coated in white, while Arendelle itself is beautiful and bustling with activity.

I leave the window all too aware that I have work to get done, and decisions to make. My morning routine is short and simple, all I need to do is wash up, get dressed, and eat breakfast. I am thankful that I do not have to spend endless hours being readied by a servant; that is a special torture reserved for special and public events.

Stepping out through my door way still gives me a rush of adrenaline. My mind knows that I have nothing to fear, and that everything is well, but my heart worries about getting caught and having my powers exposed. My head becomes filled with thoughts of the meetings and courts I have to attend this week and the paperwork I still have scattered around my study, as I make my way to the dining hall.

I become distracted by laughter, and two snowy feet hiding behind a tapestry of Arendelles seal. Feigning un-awareness I take a casual stroll to the window nearest the icy feet and pretend that I am surveying the castle grounds while watching the snowy feet creep up behind me. "Boo." Olaf's cheery voice shouts as he launches himself at my ankle. I make a point of sounding surprised and stumbling back in an exaggerated manner. The little snowman turns his head to face me with his eyes wide. "Were you scared?"

"Yes I was you're getting to sneaky for your own good." I reach out to tap his carrot nose. "You silly snowman, would you like to join me for breakfast" His face splits into his characteristic smile as he nods. Wasting no time at all he grabs my hand and skips toward the dining hall while dragging me along behind him. Olaf makes me feel at ease, it may be because he is ice and snow, thus leaving him unharmed when I lose control. He is so sincere, everything he says is innocent and true, at least true in his eye; maybe that is why I enjoy his company so much, he will never feed me worthless lies and try to pretend that he is not scared when he ought to be.

Regardless I find myself smiling from ear to ear as we catapult through the doors of the dining hall. Anna has not yet woken up, she rarely does so before noon, and Arendelle is hosting no foreign royals, so the dining hall is empty except for a long table with a plate of set fruit on it. I select a wine red apple and offer Olaf a variety of alternative noses; he chooses to stick with his customary carrot.

Anna will not be up for many more hours thus giving me a few hours of quiet in my study. I bid Olaf a good morning with intent of heading off to finally tackle my heaping piles of work, but I come to an abrupt stop in the door way as I hear my name being called. Whipping around with my hands raised, one still clutching my half eaten apple, I am ready for whatever this person may want, whether it is good or bad. I lower my hands and release the breath I did not know I was holding when I see that it is a snow-covered Kristoff blundering through the kitchen and into the dining hall. His hat sits in his head at a precarious angle and his boots are tracking in mud; I do not envy the maids that will have to mop up later today. "Elsa, Queen Elsa. Please don't go." He has rushed here, that much is obvious to me by his heaving chest and quick, sharp breaths.

Smiling I offer a quick reassurance. "I'm not going anywhere; you may take a moment to catch your breath if you wish." He flashes me the briefest of smiles before doubling over and spluttering his way thorough booming coughs. I can't fathom why he needs to talk with me, or why he is so incredibly out of breath, but Anna likes him so much, so I must make an effort to accommodate him and make him feel welcomed.

"I want to talk to you," Kristoff has finally recovered and launches right into a speech. "You see, I really like Anna, and well, I think she like me too, and we've been seeing each other for seven months now. I know it's not a long time, but I really do love her, and well I was wondering. You see, I thought perhaps that you could, that I could maybe have." He lets his words get away from him and he trails off into a nervous and blushing mess. I cough to bring Kristoff back to reality; it works rather well as he ceases his rambling and gets back on track. "I would like your blessing and permission to make Anna my wife."

When Anna was young, about eight or nine, I heard through the maids that gossiped outside my door that she was already planning her wedding. I wasn't her real wedding of course, just a silly fantasy that little girls like to dream of, I'm sure she wouldn't even remember the details if I ever asked. I remembered though, she had wanted chocolate in every course of the meal and a towering chocolate cake with lilies and daisies everywhere. The accent colors had thrown her through a loop; she couldn't decide on a color scheme but knew that she wanted lots of sparkle everywhere. That was all I could think of while Kristoff stood in front of me, staring at me, waiting with his heart in my hands. "Yes." I couldn't think of a man more deserving of Anna's heart. "Yes of course you may have my blessing. You are a fine young man and will make a good husband for Anna."

His shoulders relax and he appears to deflate. "Thank you, I was worried I might not measure up to a prince. Um, I also have another question; actually it's more of a favor."

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Anna is up at noon as if by clockwork, and I manage to finish off my piles of paperwork after working out all the details with Kristoff. It is nice to be free from the nagging in my head that always reminds me that I have work to do, but I know I will not enjoy the feeling for long. Not a day goes by without a new load of documents being dropped off for me to sort and sign. "Have you seen Kristoff lately?" Anna asks me as we stroll around the freshly snow-covered stalls at the market place. "He hasn't come by to see me recently." Her voice is small and timid; it seems she actually believes Kristoff could ever leave her.

"I saw him delivering some ice yesterday." I try to lie in a smooth and calm fashion, but am worried I am going to let something slip and ruin the surprise. I have ruined far too much in my life time to ruin anything else. I have to ensure that this plays out as Kristoff has planned, for Anna.

"Was he with anyone, maybe like, oh I don't know, another girl?" Anna asks the words tumbling from her mouth so fast I have to spend several seconds decoding them. Another girl, the very thought of that is absurd. I may not know Kristoff as well as Anna does, but at least I am not blind to how much that boy loves my sister.

"Anna," I stop walking and turn to face her, "you really do not need to worry about Kristoff, ok? He is completely nutts about you. You were all he could talk about when I saw him yesterday; he just didn't have any time to visit you." I want to tell her that he is busy planning the happiest day of her life, but I am stuck listing off lies that won't quell her worries in the slightest. She will not meet my gaze and I know that no matter what I say she won't be as ease until tomorrow afternoon.

"Elsa!" I hear my name being called off to my right. "Queen Elsa!" I see the owner of the voice now; it comes from a little boy, no more than seven, who has just pushed his way through the crowd of busy shoppers. He has messy hair and a stumbling walk.

"Yes that is me. Seeing as you know my name perhaps I could know yours?" I ask while bending down to be at eye level with the small boy. He does not seem to have any parents or guardians of any kind following behind him.

"Alex." The boy, Alex, says his name with a proud smile while pointing to himself. "It's short for Alexander, but my mum only calls me that when she's mad at me."

"Alex is a very nice name." Anna adds while surveying the area, in what seems to be an attempt to spot whoever has lost this adorable little boy.

I nod with Alex, trying my best to make sense of how he's gotten here on his own. "So Alex, speaking of your mum, do you know where she is?" I can't imagine Alex taking a trip to the markets on his own; he seems far too young for such things.

"I don't know." Alex shrugs as he explains. "I was with her at the flower shop, when a big man with a reindeer passed by, when I turned around to tried to tell my mum about him she was gone. Then I saw you, and you're the Queen, the nicest queen in a hundred years. So I knew you could help me."

I know I should be looking for a mother distraught with worry looking for her little boy, but something Alex said has intrigued me. "Who said I was the nicest queen in a hundred years?"

"The girls at my school, they all want to grow up to be like you. You're all they talk about." Alex explains is as if it is the most common fact that everyone should know.

I can't make my mouth work, I want to say something, anything, even just a simple thank you to make me seem less conceited; because I'm sure that's how I must seem right now. I thank my lucky stars that a worried woman comes to my rescue shouting Alex's name. She must be his mother; the woman wastes no time scooping him up into her arms and launching into a breathless thank you. "Thank you so much, I swear I just looked away for a second. He's such a fast one. I can't keep up-." Her voice stops and I notice that her eyes have zeroed in on me. "Oh good gosh, you're the Queen, I'm so sorry your majesty, did he bother you at all? I can offer you some fresh bread, his father is a baker, but I'm afraid bread is all we have"

"No." Anna and I insist at the same time.

"We have plenty, and Alex was an absolute delight, he will grow into a fine young man I am sure." I try to reassure the woman that Anna and I harbour no ill will toward her or her son.

"Thank you, It has been a pleasure your majesties, but I must be getting home." With that finale remark Alex's mother hurried of with him in her arms. He waved at us over his mother's shoulder and flashed us a quick smile.

"Nicest queen in a hundred years?" Anna says with a cheeky smile. I brush the comment away with a shrug. Little children have a way of romanticizing things.

We keep walking through the city and, with little haste, make our way back to the castle grounds, and then into the castle itself. I am reminded that Anna cannot manage the cold as well as me when I see her shivering under her thick felt cloak. I wish that I could hug her and warm her up, but I am not a warm person, my powers keep my body temperature lower than the average. None of that matters though, because the castle is warm and Anna need only mention hot chocolate to have servants rushing around and preparing some for her.

Anna and I continue our casual walk through the hallways of the castle; we don't speak much, just revel in each other's company. Anna takes small, timid sips from her mug of hot chocolate, and I watch, noticing the way her eyebrows are scrunched up over her eyes. She is still worried about Kristoff, that much us utterly obvious from the fact that she is muttering his name angrily every so often. One thing is for certain, Kristoff will have his hands full with Anna as a wife, though I have no doubt that they will be beautiful together.

I just wish our mother could be at Anna's wedding, she would have loved Kristoff. No one would be around to walk Anna down the aisle; our father couldn't do it he is under an ocean. They had always talked about that when Anna and I were children, they would talk about their wedding and how magical it was, and how they couldn't wait to see us glowing as we stepped up to the altar. They will never get to see any of it. They died on a boat far away from Anna and me, and I hadn't hugged them before they left. I could never manage to count all the time's I wished I had hugged them instead of the bloody curtsy I left them with. Anna's wedding will still be beautiful though, I will work day and night to give her that. She deserves a day of absolute perfection.

"Anna!" I hear Kristoff's voice shout for Anna and become confused, this wasn't the plan, he wasn't getting the ring back from the jewellers until tomorrow morning, and then he would ask her that night, not now. "Anna, there you are." Kristoff came running into view, what was with this boy and his needless running. "I've been looking all around for you. Where were you?"

I am worried, Anna is still edgy and I cannot help but think she may start accusing Kristoff of thinks he would never do. "Walking." Anna replies with a single word that drips of malice. Yes, I should be worried. Anna turns away from Kristoff and continues down the hallway, her heels digging into the floor and her head held high.

Kristoff's confusion is palpable and I am aware that I am a third wheel, but I am also aware that I must intervene if Kristoff is to ask Anna what he intends to ask tomorrow. "And looking for you." I interject before Anna can put too much distance in-between Kristoff and herself. "Actually, she was going to invite you for a dinner, the chefs have spent all day making the most delectable prawn soup." I know Anna ream me out for this latter, but I cannot risk them fighting, or rather Anna fighting and Kristoff being confused, because he has done nothing wrong, Anna is just being paranoid.

"Elsa?" Anna's voice is confused. I ignore her and wave over a servant who is following the muddy foot prints Kristoff has tracked into the hallway, and undoubtedly throughout the rest of the castle.

"Kristoff, Anna; Kai will make sure that you both enjoy a magnificent dinner together." I feel bad for roping Kai into this mess, but Anna and Kristoff must not be allowed to fight. Kai is a welcoming a comforting man, he will set Anna and Kristoff at ease for the evening and allow them to enjoy themselves. Also Kai will pick up on the pleading look I am shooting him.

"Of course your majesty," I feel my muscles, that have tensed during this anxious interaction, unwind. I owe that man so much; maybe a raise will suit him. "Princess, Sir, Follow me this way and you will find yourself at the most exquisite terrace for a pre-dinner cocktail." Kai directs Anna and Kristoff through the nearest door while shooting me a wink; he knows what he has to do. God bless that man, he is most certainly getting that raise.

Then I am alone with a blissful silence resting in the air, for about six seconds, and then Olaf is barrelling down the hallway with him arms stretched wide and a smile on his face. I smile to myself and then pick him up as he jumps into my arms. "Elsa, guess what I found today?"

"A purple and yellow horse?" I guess the wildest thing I can think of at the moment, enjoying playing along and loving Olaf's unabashed enthusiasm.

"No."

"I give up then, what did you find?" I admit defeat with a shrug and a smile.

"A leaf!" he says as he holds out a small oak leaf that I hadn't noticed he had in his hand until now. It is nothing exciting and special to me, but everything about life is special and exciting to Olaf. I put him back on the ground and ask him where he found the leaf, without hesitating for even a moment he grabs my hand like he did this morning and pulls me along the halls and out in to the gardens.

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**I don't wanna be the person that tells you to review, but... please. **

**I wish you all a wonderful day. **

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(")(")* - see the bunny? the bunny smiles every time someone reviews. 

**-Whovian123**


	3. Chapter 3

**So I may be going a little crazy with updates, but I'n going to for away for 2 weeks come the weekend, so i might as well get a bunch of stuff up, right?**

**Again, don't wanna be that guy, but review? just one? Even if you want to yell at me for my awful writing (Actually constructive criticism would be much nicer)  
**

**-Whovian123**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. **

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My mission is simple; freeze the pond. Kristoff intends to propose to my sister after an afternoon of ice skating on a pond which has frozen over with only a thin layer of ice, not sturdy enough to support the weight of two full-grown adults. So, this is where I come into play, show up about fifteen minutes before Kristoff plans on bringing Anna, and freeze the lake over with a solid layer of adult weight-bearing ice. Then get out and give the crazy love birds a bit of well-deserved privacy.

I would have liked to allow myself more escape time, but the risk of the ice melting and a catastrophe ensuring is too great, and I will not have this proposal fall apart and be aborted because of something I did. So here I am, standing in the center of the lake, an intricate pattern of frost zigzagging out from my feet to the edge of the pond. I revel in the free-ness for not much more than moments, and then I pull my powers back down, back deep into a sheltered place of my soul. The ice is thick enough now; it is thick enough to support much more than just two full-grown adults. I had gotten carried away. I chance a look around myself and noticed that the snow banks had increased in size too; I had gotten far too carried away.

"Just this way Anna." I hear Kristoff's voice from behind some dense and frosty trees. "I promise you will love it." It takes longer than I wish for my instincts to kick in and for me to launch myself across the lake and into some bushes, which I hope offers me enough concealment. What is Kristoff doing bringing Anna up here so soon, well I believe that he is the one going off schedule, or have I been in my mind for so long that I lost track of time? The more I look at the sun and the sky the more I realize that the latter explanation is the more likely of the two.

"Oh Kristoff, I can't believe you planned out a whole evening." Anna's voice is sweet and sincere, she has no clue just how much Kristoff has planned, and how important it all is. Her face lights up when she and Kristoff emerge from the tree line. "Are we ice-skating? I love ice-skating." Kristoff nods and pulls out two pair of skates from the bag slung over his shoulder. His hands are shaking ever so slightly and I can see the way he cannot meet Anna's eyes. His hands keep coming up to hover near his pocket. That must be where he is keeping the ring.

I should leave, they do deserve their privacy, even more so when it is such an intimate moment between two people, but I can't bring myself to sneak away. They both look so happy, skating around and exchanging pleasantries. I guess on some level I may be jealous, not in the traditional way, I have no immediate desire for a courter, or a husband, but I do find myself wishing for a relationship in which I can be at absolute ease with the other person, though I fear it will be a luxury I cannot ever achieve.

They have started skating now; I feel the urge to protect Anna as I see Kristoff bring up his arm to hold her around the waist. I know I cannot always protect her though; I have to let her make her own choices. She learnt her lesson with Hans; I can barely even think his name without shuddering. Kristoff is better than Hans in all the ways a person can be better than another.

Anna is still rather unsteady on her skates and leans against Kristoff as they carve wide lazy circles into the ice. I should leave; I really should, it is just getting ridiculous now. I don't leave though. The sun is setting; the world is alight with burnt orange skies and long ethereal shadows. The snow accentuates the natural beauty of the sunset by reflecting its blazing golden light, and adding white highlights to the world around it.

All at once Anna trips and is sent skidding into a snow bank with Kristoff not far behind. Anna manages to twist on to her back just as Kristoff lands on top of her; they are both wearing embarrassed blushes as Anna presses a quick kiss to Kristoff's cheek and whispers something in his ear. Then the tone changes, Kristoff is talking, though I cannot hear which words he says, I can assume that he popped the question though, because I do hear the scream Anna lets out and the many yeses that follow.

I sneak off while they are distracted. I am happy for Anna; she deserves a happy ever after and she may finally get a shot at one.

Once back at the castle I ask Kai to ready one of the guest rooms for Kristoff, with the engagement finalized he will have to move into the castle, and I will not allow him to share a room with Anna. Regardless of the impending marriage, they will keep up custom. Though I cannot lie and say I will not be thrilled when I have nieces and nephews to entertain and see running around the castle, if they are even somewhat like Olaf, whom I suspect behaves as most children do, they will make the castle a brighter and kinder place to spend time.

I retire to my study and work through the afternoon, I may be happy and excited for my sister, but that will not take away the paper work waiting for me. Now, on top of all the paper work, I will have to arrange for a party to announce Anna's engagement. I will have to organize food, and countless invites. I will have to figure out who to invite and who I cannot even consider inviting. Weaselton will not be thought of for even a moment, and the Southern Isles will be looked over as well, but that couple from Corona will want to attend, and many others will want to be a part of the celebration. It will also increase relations between Arendelle and many of our trade partners. I am told weddings have a habit of bringing odd groups of people together.

Sighing I pull out some parchment, dip a quill in ink and start sorting out a list of invitees. I will, of course, officialize everything with Anna, but some of this is going to be a game of politics as well as just an engagement party. That is the price of being royalty, nothing is for yourself, everything is a high stakes game.

Much later in the evening Anna opens the door to my study and waltzes in, humming a gentle song to herself. I hold back the smile that threatens my face, and then with the most innocent voice I can muster I ask. "What's got you in such a cheery mood?"

"Oh, I don't know, it's just a really nice day today, don't you agree?" Anna asks me with a coy smile while bringing her hand up to her face. Her hand bears the new addition of an engagement ring, which I ignore.

"Yes, I agree. The snow looks lovely on the mountains." I am just riling Anna up now, ignoring the obvious ring with the intent of leaving her frustrated, I cannot resist, and we are sisters after all, jokes such as this are all but mandatory.

Anna takes the bait my placing her hand on my desk, fingers splayed, and ring glittering in the most un-ignorable way. "My wrist has been acting up though, do you think I slept on it wrong, or is the weather making it feel stiff?"

I pick up Anna's hand and make a big show of inspecting her wrist and hand, she wears a smug face, she is so sure that I will notice and stat gushing. I continue my charade. "I would try soaking it in hot water if it is really bothering you. It should away soon enough though."

I am pushing it; I can tell in the way that Anna holds her hand in front of my face, inches from my nose. "Really, my finger also feels rather odd. Do you see anything different about it?"

"I do." Anna lights up as I say that. "You filed your nails, didn't you?" I feel just a bit bad as I see Anna deflate. I suppose I have put her though enough of this. "Also you have an engagement ring."

The reaction is instantaneous; Anna grabs my wrists and pulls me up and out of my chair, then swings me around in a circle, which is followed by an all-consuming hug. "Can you believe it, me, engaged!" Anna is finally able to start gushing now, everything she has wanted to shout from the moment she walked into the room. I will not be able to get a word in edgewise, so I do not try. I just let her say what she needs to say, and what I want to hear. That she is happy. She has never been so thrilled and excited in her entire life.

We stay up rather late, we talk, we laugh, and we enjoy life with all its spenders. We are close, the closest we have ever been in thirteen and a half years. I revel in the joy filled glow Anna lets off, she is so content, she is content in all aspects of her life and I can see it in the way she carries herself and in the way she laughs and smiles without that sad undertone that would sometimes creep in.

"He was so cute, all blushes and smiles, he even packed me a picnic." Anna is explaining every miniscule detail of the afternoon too me, starting from the ice-skating and then all the way through to the after proposal picnic. I don't tell her I was watching the first half, I don't suspect that I ever will. What Anna does with Kristoff is her own business, though I make it clear to Anna that she and Kristoff are to stay in separate bedrooms until their wedding night. She understands, of course, though I sense she may be a little disgruntled by it. It is not as if they will have to remain separated for long, if everything works out and goes smoothly the wedding could be within a month or two, if Anna and Kristoff so desired.

I feel a certain amount of relief knowing that I will be able to forgo marrying and producing an heir if I wish. I am not opposed to the idea of marriage, but I cannot fathom a situation where I could manage to be close enough with someone to manage producing an heir. With Anna and Kristoff's wedding all of Arendelle will turn to them for a future heir and I will be happy to have the pressure taken from me.

The conversation migrates to wedding planning, and which kind of cake they will have, and all the people Anna wants to invite. She has some unreasonable and farfetched ideas, but I intend to pull some strings and use my status as queen to make things easier. I don't like to exploit my power, but for Anna I would do anything.

It worries me to a vague extent just how much I would do, and how much I would endure for Anna, she is the most important person in my world. I have to protect her in the absence of our parents, and I have to love her in the absence of our parents. I know I cannot ever take away the sting of lost family, but I can do my best to mask the pain, and cushion the overwhelming sadness that follows when it comes rushing over you, and for confusing and unexplainable reasons all you can see is their faces, and all you can hear are their screams as they are dragged to the unforgiving sea bead.

I do see Anna looking sad some days, and every so often I will find her curled up under a desk or behind a bookcase with puffy eyes and a tear slicked face. The sobs are always quiet, and that make it worse. Quiet sobs are the ones that you could never keep in, no matter how strong your resolve. When someone is crying silently it is because they don't know what else to do, so I never offer words of encouragement, or give her false smiles. I respect Anna too much to do anything other than hold her while her body rocks with sobs, and stroke her hair as she convulses and hiccups.

Anna is happy today though, and I will do my up most to keep her so.


	4. Chapter 4

**Hi, how are you? I hope you answered positively because I quite like you, yes you. Not really much to say about this one, the end probably wont shock you too much, its not really a big thing, or a cliff hanger. **

**-Whovian123**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Frozen or Disney. **

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Fear, I feel fear. It is unjust fear, but fear none the less. I have just been notified that an unidentified ship is sailing toward Arendelle. It will not dock until the afternoon, and that will leave them with plenty of time to raise a flag, but I am still nervous regardless.

Of all the days for a ship to show up unannounced and without identification is has to be the day of my sister's engagement party. I random threat never presents itself on days where I have no plans other than enjoying the views of the distant mountains.

Against my better judgment I resolve to ignore the ship. It is not as if I have any grounds to be worried. I imagine the conversation I would have with Anna.

"_Anna, there is a scary ship." _

"_Elsa, you're nutts, that's nothing to be worried about, it's a boat, not a demon."_

"_I know that, but I have a really bad feeling about it."_

"_Elsa, it's my engagement party, don't ruin this like you did with the last party, or do you not remember how badly you ruined your coronation?" _

The Anna in my head is often rather mean and cutting in her remarks, far more so than the Anna that is sliding down the hallway, grabbing on to my hand and tugging me through hallways. She has been all smiles and giggles today. She looks as if she is jumping from cloud to cloud, and in this moment I know, not a thing in the world can bring her down, not even an ominous ship.

Come to think about it I realize that Anna is up unusually early. I guess that is what happens when one is exceptionally excited about the day; they wake up early in hope that the morning will be better than any other typical morning, simply because they have special plans later in the day. It is a rather unusual practice, but if it gets Anna to wake up without complaining I will let it be.

Anna and I come to a skidding halt in front of the main castle doors. "I can't decide whether or not I should go outside, or stay inside." She confesses.

"Isn't it rather arbitrary?" I ask with an eyebrow raised.

"No its not, or maybe it is, but if I go outside then I can't go inside again. Well I can, but I can't un go outside, once I've gone outside everyone will know that I've gone outside and if outside leaves me everyone will know and laugh." Anna finishes rather rushed and determined.

I understand what she means to say, and reassure her with a small smile, and a few words. "Kristoff loves you Anna, he is not Hans and he will not leave you." Anna swallows, and nods. Everything that is arbitrary and everything that is a choice which she can make, will feel more important than usual today, because so much of what is about to happen to her will fall out of her control. She closes her eyes and shoves against the doors, they yield and drag across the ground as we step out into the day together. The weather is nice, nothing special, but it has been far worse before. The snow is pure and white with skeletal trees gracing the walkway out in to the city.

Anna rather nervous, I can see it in her eyes, and in the way she walks. Her feet take timid steps and her eyes hold specks of fear behind a façade of calmness. "You'll do beautifully."

Anna whirls around. "What?" She stumbles through the word, confused by my sudden complement.

"I said." I take several steps forward and pull her into a hug. "You will do beautifully." I feel her tense body against mine, she is so tiny. Her breathing is quick and shallow; she is far more worried than she lets on. It feels wrong to put my sister out in public and then tell the world that she will be getting married, she is going to be bombarded by dukes and earls, princes and princesses, and even a few kings and queens, all trying to get the details of the courtship and the proposal. It has been rather startling for me to realize just how much nobility likes to gossip.

Alas I have to do it; regardless I have given Anna enough tips and tricks to last through a lifetime of questions. She is strong too, far stronger than anyone gives her credit for, far stronger than I could ever hope to be. "But how can I ever compare to you and Mother?" Anna mumbles the question into my embrace. It takes me several seconds to comprehend what she is asking, and then when I do it baffles me.

"Anna, I don't know why you could ever think you fall flat next to Mother or me." I struggle a little, trying to find the right words for such a left field question. "You are your own person, and that person is so very you, not me, not mother, just you."

Anna mumbles something that sounds like resentful agreement. I cannot contain a slight chuckle as she pulls away from the hug. She is so Anna in every aspect of her personality, and everyone who meets her loves her. I briefly debate on whether or not now is a good time to tell her she has been getting a lot of attention from other royals, and no less than four requests for her hand in marriage have been sent to me this month alone, all of which I replied to with rejection letters. I decide against it.

I worry about Anna sometimes, I worry that she sells herself short. She seems stuck in a world where she is a disappointing spare, and I cannot figure out how to show her she is not. She deserves the best. The best happens to be waving to her from the stable he had just emerged from. Anna's face lights up the way it always does when she sees Kristoff, and then she's off like a bullet shouting apologies at me and promising to spend time together later. I do not mind Anna's preference to Kristoff. It makes sense; she did not have to spend thirteen years knocking on his door without an answer. I gave away claim to being Anna's favorite a long time ago.

I meander back into the castle and through the halls, exploring places I had yet to find the time to explore. I cannot fathom the time and effort the must have gone in to some of the paintings and tapestries that grace the walls in so many rooms.

I need to waste time, there is far too much of it before the party, and I am far too restless to sit down in my study and work. Though now that I remember just how much work I have to do I feel the need to pick up a quill and toil my way through the trade agreements; I suppose one of the requirements of being queen is the sacrifice of any spare time whatsoever, and total dedication to working day and night.

I cave as I always do and spend all of midday in my study, not emerging from my catatonic state of labour until I hear a timid knock on my door. The servants know not to interrupt me when I am in my study, so that leaves two possibilities for the identity of whomever is outside the door. Kristoff or Anna, given that I do not expect Kristoff to fancy a quick visit with me I am not surprised when I swing open the door to reveal Anna's face, though I am rather startled by the state of her hair. It is stuck up in every direction imaginable and all tangled into a rather intimidating nest.

"Elsa I need help" Anna's voice is broken and desperate.

"Oh my, what happened, are you ok?" I ask, confused and worried.

"I can't get my hair to coöperate."

My lungs deflate and I feel like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders. Hair was manageable; I had jumped to far worse conclusions than unruly hair. "Anna." I intend to tease her about her unorthodox reaction to something so small, but her face makes the words catch on my tongue. "Anna, come in. I'll fix your hair."

Anna steps through the door way and into my study, her hands are clenched at her side, with one holding a hair brush, and her knees don't manage to bend enough as she walks to the chair I had worked in several moments ago. I notice a trembling in her hands, a trembling I am all too familiar with in my own hands, as she offers up the hair brush.

I take the brush and grip the handle with loose fingers, her hair is soft and easy to fix, she just gets herself so worked up. If Anna took a moment to breathe and relax she would find that a lot of everyday tasks became much simpler.

I cannot see Anna's face, but from the tense state of her shoulders and the sharp silence that has settled into the room I can only guess that she is not wearing a calm expression. I do not know what to say, how can I help her? I have not been around a scared Anna before, not when I was a bystander instead of the instigator.

My mouth hangs open and I try to force comforting words out of it, but they stay buried deep in my heart, scared of ever seeing the light of day, afraid that they will sound hollow and false. Thankfully I do not have to break the silence, Anna does it for me. "I'm scared Elsa."

"Anna you don't have anyth-." I try to tell her how little she has to be afraid of.

"No, not that kind of scared." Anna insists. "I'm worried that everyone will forget that Mum is meant to be at my wedding. I know it doesn't make much sense, but she's missing and Dad is too. I know it was so long ago, but… It's not right." Anna's voice has gone high in the way that warns of tears.

I feel my own eyes grow damp at the mention of our parents. Anna is right, they should be here, it should be our mother fixing up Anna's hair, not me, and it should be Father whom is asked to give his blessing, not me. It is me though; it is Anna and I against the world. "Anna, nothing can bring them back, but we can remember them, and continue to love them. They will always be our parents, whether they are around to remind us or not." Anna is silent after that, though I can tell she is not content with my response, even I am not content with my response.

I tie Anna's hair into a final sweeping circle, and smooth out a few kinks. She stands up and asks me how she looks. Only now do I realize that she is already wearing the dress that has been made for the party. She looks so adult and elegant, though I know she is not the latter. "You look amazing." I tell her. She smiles weakly at me.

"Really?"

"Beautiful, Kristoff is lucky to have you." I answer her disbelief and am reward with a crushing hug that makes me smile.

We spend the rest of the time before the party talking and chatting about inconsequential things. Not until then the sun starts to kiss the horizon do we begin to make our way to the ballroom to start the party and welcome the guests.

Everything goes as smooth as anyone could have dared hoped. Kristoff and Anna are both glowing as they announce their engagement, with Anna tripping once and Kristoff having the reflexes to catch her before anyone notices. Not all is good though, they have to sit through an endless looking line of congratulations. I manage to avoid questions, seeing as I am less relevant in the current situation that Kristoff and Anna, which I am rather grateful for seeing as Kai had appeared out of nowhere and is rambling on about "urgent matters".

I sneak out of the ballroom and follow Kai down a hallway before I get the "urgent news" out of him. "Your majesty, I regret to inform you that your presence is required at the ports." Kai speaks with a quick and quiet tone.

"Is it about the ship from earlier?" I ask, worry floods through all of my thoughts. I cannot afford a crisis today, not during Anna's engagement party.

Kai nods in a short stiff motion, and a dark look enters his eyes. "The ship stopped short of the docks and sent a rowboat ashore. There was one man in the rowboat, and he demanded you join him back on the ship. Naturally the harbour men were hesitant, so one man volunteered to take your place and he went back to the ship, where he is being held hostage."

A hostage situation, how do I manage this, do a go aboard and try to negotiate? I suppose so; I cannot let an innocent man die because he tried to keep me safe. "OK, how do we proceed?"

"That's what I am here to ask you your majesty."

Of course, I am queen, I have the highest authority, and I should know how to deal with this. "Have they specified what they want?"

"They claim they only want your presence, to discuss political matters." Kai's voice trails off in a way that suggests he believes them to have far more violent intentions.

I know that I have to do what they ask of me. I cannot tell an innocent man be killed when his captors are after me. If I refuse to discuss 'political matters' with them they may declare war on Arendelle, I will not have my nation go to war within the first year of my reign, and I will not have to tell the man's family that i watched as his throat was slit. I steel my resolve, and desperately trying to quell the storm that wants to break free and wreak havoc. "Take me to the docks." My voice sounds far more assured than I feel.

As we rush through darkened streets toward the docks, and I feel a stinging guilt at having abandoned Anna during her party. Deciding that it does not matter I tug my arms around my waist, keeping my powers inside, pulling them in to that deep sheltered place where emotions do not exist. My feet and nose realize we have reached the docks before my head, due to the uneven feel of the wooden slats, and the tainted sea air. Several harbour workers tip their hats and address me as I approach the grouping of my people and a man in a rowboat.

The man in the rowboat is grimy and short, his hair is long and clearly neglected. "Finally, we're getting somewhere. No more of this awful 'I'll take the Queen place.' We only care about the real deal chaps." His voice is rough and unnerving.

The Kai helps me in to the rowboat; which is particularly difficult due to the dress I am wearing, which was meant only for Anna's party. He offers me a curt nod as the boat is pushed from the dock. The grimy man wastes no time in picking up his oars and rowing us out to the rather menacing boat. I do not attempt any sort of conversation and neither does the man, I am here with one purpose and one purpose only: To make sure none of my citizens are killed.

We reach the boat and the man speaks up. "Get up your majesty, a rope ladder is the best you're gonna get." He gestures to a frail looking looping rope ladder. I give the man a curt nod and start pulling myself up. It is an undignified ascent which involves my hands slipping often and my feet fighting for purchase of any sort on a slick rope. With one motion a loose grip with both of my hands and start falling toward the ocean, which I am sure I will sink to the bottom of with all the clothing I have on that will become waterlogged. However I stop moving as a hand shoots out a jerks around my wrist causing a stinging pain in the joint.

"Careful Elsa, I need you alive." A voice says, a voice dripping with smug arrogance. A voice that makes my blood run cold and makes me wish I had fallen to in to the ocean instead of just dangling here, my arm stretching and threatening to leave it joint. Tilting my head upwards my suspicions are confirmed, for I am now looking into the chilling green eyes of Prince Hans.

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**For anyone wondering if Hans and Elsa are going to get together. NO. Never ever will i let them get together, He tried to behead her while she wept over the sister she thought she had killed, because of his lies. **

**So reviews? **

**-Whovian123**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hullo all, hope you are having a wonderful day, I am having a pretty tiring day seeing as I am minutes away from boarding a plane, pretty fun eh? So I will be without internet for a while ( a week or so) so i wont be updating with the speed of before, but i'm going to try and update once or twice while on vacation. This chapter is a bit shorter, but I really wanted to end it where it ends, so i hope to make up for the shortness with a few longer chapters after this one.**

**Also if anyone has fan-art that they made, or would like to make some cover art for this story that would be the most amazing thing, you would be credited in every chapter. If you are interested please PM me. **

**Please enjoy, we really break in to the plot this time round. **

**-Whovian123**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Frozen or Disney. **

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Hans hoists me up on to the deck of what I am assuming is his boat. Now it makes so much sense, my apprehension of the boat. I was right to be worried, I was right to think bad things were bring brought on this ship. I the boat was not a daemon, but it carries one, one that goes by the name of Hans. I wench my wrist out of his grasp the moment I feel my shoes hit the floor. "You animal." I shout. "What the hell are you doing back in my country?" I no longer care about my mission, or keeping the peace, in this moment I would trade the harbour master's life for a dagger to drive through Hans's heart. Then I remember; ice is sharp.

My hands fly out in front of me and I let all of my anger out in a furious blast of sleet. Hans falls to the ground and I am standing over him with my hands at his throat, threatening to sever his neck if he so much as twitches. Then I am being pulled back by strong and aggressive hands, despite my kicking and screaming. I let out an enormous surge of ice which coats the deck and sends everyone around me to the ground. "I want answers now." I whisper threateningly in Hans's ear.

He clamors to his feet. "You have got to stop being such a frigid bitch, or you might not get back any of the hostages." His voice is cutting and angry. I shouldn't have been so aggressive; I may have just cost an innocent man his life. I take a step back and ask that the harbour master be freed. "Bring him out." has says as he points to one of the men who tried to restrain me earlier. The man, who bears a nasty looking scar on his face and a lumber gait, disappears in to the hull of the ship, and then a moment later reappears behind a man bound in rope.

I rush forward and start working at the knots by his hands, desperate to get this man back to shore, with his family, and with a significant raise. As I pull the gag away from his mouth he launches in to warnings. "Your majesty, do not worry about me, you should not be here. Run. Run while you still stand a chance." I admire is bravery, but know that this is my battle and not his.

"Hush now, I will not be leaving you behind, you are noble in intent, but I am sure you want to make it back home to your family." The man struggles and thrashes about as I try to calm him and work through the mass of knots. At last I break through the last one, and the moment I do the man launches himself at the guards and shouts at me to escape. I pry him off of the men and look in to his frightened eyes, and tell him he has been bold and done wonderfully, but that he has to leave. I then show him the rope ladder which he can use to climb in to the rowboat and make then his escape back to shore, the grimy man long since having clamored aboard the ship.

As I watch the harbour master row back to shore I feel my shoulders bunch up into painful knots as I realize that I have just trapped myself on a ship with the man who tried to kill both my sister and I, as well as steal my throne and county.

"Well well well." Hans muses from behind me. "You haven't changed at all have you Elsa. Still feisty and annoying as ever, always little miss 'I know best' and 'do what I say'."

"What do you want?" I ask without turning my head, I do not know if I can stand looking in to his malicious eyes. I feel my powers twitch within me; I am fighting with all that I have to keep them in.

"Same as last time, or are you as thick as to think that I would have given up?" Hans mocks me as he strolls into my view. His eyes hold a dangerous power-hungry sheen that they did not hold on our last encounter, or that he kept well hidden on our last encounter. Regardless it only serves to anger me more.

"You will not have my throne. I will die protecting it, and even if I do die, it will go to Anna and Kristoff." I hope in vain that this will deter Hans. It, of course, does not.

"Oh yes. Was that little party for them? Did I interrupt? I hope poor little Anna doesn't notice you are missing."

The flesh of my palms is ragged and flaming now from the clench of my hands and the ranking of my nails. "Are you not aware of my powers? I could blast this entire ship to bits and send an icicle through your heart without a second thought." I wish with every bone in my body that I could follow through with my threat right there, but the sinking feeling in my gut warns me that Han's is behaving like a man whom hold all the cards.

"Elsa, honey I know what you can do, but I also know you can't hurt anyone you love." He explains with an awful sick and cheerful smile, as if the sinking look on my face brings him pleasure; which, if I am being honest with myself, probably does.

"Anna." The name escapes from my lips before I can stop it. It is not more than a whisper, but I know that Hans hears it. He has her, he has her somehow, and I don't know how to help her. The one person left on this earth that means something to me, and I have failed her. She is too young, and to pure for such things as captivity and torture.

I promised my parents three years ago that I would keep her safe, and I have not. I wish they could come back from the dead to yell at me, because I know no one else will, everyone else will be too afraid to say what they know to be true; that this is my fault. It is my fault that Anna is tied up somewhere, mouth gaged, hands bound, and eyes covered. She may never see sunlight again. She had such a bright future; her and Kristoff would get married and have heaps of kids and grow old happy and with each other.

I am afraid by how much I know I would give up in keeping Anna safe. I would give up my country and my dignity if it meant being able to see her in her wedding dress. I would give my life for her to live out hers to a fulfilling end.

The world around me is blotted out as I double over on the filthy deck of the ship and retch, thankfully I have not eaten much today so I do not get sick everywhere, but I am slick with a sweat, which I can only assume would be cold on a normal person. I look up to see Hans's perfect and polished boots in front of me. "Are you done getting my ship dirty?" His voice is casual and bored. I spit on his boots.

My head is forced up as he reaches down and yanks at my hair. "I said, are you done?" I offer a weak nod. "Better, you will want to keep in line, so no sassy displays of independence. Ok?" I nod again. "Good." He let's go of my hair and my head slams into the old planks of the deck. "Get up and follow me."

I clamor up on to my shaky legs; I know that I will have to do exactly as Hans says to keep Anna alive. I follow him into the bowls of the ship without saying a word; I have no want to hear his venomous voice gloat about capturing Anna. How did he even manage it? She was definitely at the party when I was forced to leave.

"Hans. How do I know you actually have Anna, she was at the party when I left." I ask timidly, not expecting an answer. So when I get one I am surprised.

"Who said anything about Anna?" Hans says with a sly under tone hiding in his voice. I cannot help but panic whom else could Hans have if not Anna. I have not a soul in the world who means as much to me as she does.

I ignore the arrogance and self-assured aura that is falling from Hans's with each fall of his foot. I try to calm my racing heart, what could this bastard think he is gaining from this? The stomps of Hans's boots come to an abrupt stop outside of a singular locked wooden door at the end of the hallway. He pulls a key on twine from around his neck and fits it into the door. My heart constricts and my breathing all but stops, I do not want to know who is behind that door, but at the same time it is all I have ever needed to know.

The lock clicks out-of-place and the door swings open on rusty creaky hinges. Behind the door are two people who make me fall to my knees and sends tears burning down my cheeks, not in my wildest dreams would I have guessed them, not in my wildest dreams would I have dared hope it was them.

Despite the horror of knowing that they are Hans's prisoners and the inexplicableness of the situation, I cannot help but let some of the tears I cry be tears of joy. My life is at the edge of disaster thanks to Hans, but I am also privy to the image of my long since dead parents alive and breathing in front of me.

"Elsa, you will marry me if you do not wish to see your parents killed."

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**Not bad? i thought it was fine, please let me know what you think, and have a nice morning/evening/midday/lunch/dinner/breakfast, or whatever comes next for you.**

**Also, you know whats amazing? Reviews. **

**-Whovian123**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hi guys, pretty heavy on the plot here. I hope you have been having a lovely day and that you enjoy this chapter.**

**-Whovian123**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Frozen or Disney, all rights belong to the proper owners. **

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Three years ago I suffered through the worst day of my life, which is saying something considering the usual standard of my day. The years ago I had to read a note, which was shoved under my door after being hastily written by Kai, detailing the circumstances of my parent's death. Now here I am today, stuck on a boat, being threatened by a madman, and looking in to the eyes of my decidedly not dead parents.

I lurch forward, in a desperate attempt to be close to the parents I thought I would never get to see again, but I find that a rough hand yanks be back into the hallway and slams the door shut, blocking out my parents and the frantic screaming they are trying to get past their gags. I have to help them, nothing else matters in this moment. I have to protect my parents through whatever mean necessary.

"Now." Hans's voice sounds from above me, sick pleasure coating the solitary word. "You better not do anything but agree with me or I will kill your parents." He looks mad, not an average mad, but a special insane and dangerous mad that assures me he will not hesitate to follow through with this threat. So I nod in quick small motions. "Good. First, you do not want your parents to actually die, do you?" I shake my head. "Thought so, I will kill your parents unless you agree to marry me, so you best consider my proposal quite thoroughly before you turn it down."

Marry Hans, I could not. I hate that despicable shell of a man with everything I am, but he has my parents. What would Anna do, I do not know. Anna would never be in this situation, I would protect her from it. I have to protect her from this. "You will be given until midnight tomorrow to consider my offer."

Before I know what is happening some lackeys have grabbed my upper arms and are dragging me down the hallway, away from my parents. I cannot let them slip from my grasp after so many years of thinking they were forever beyond the reach of my finger tip. Screaming and shouting I beg shamelessly for a moment with my parents.

"Enough." Hans voice cuts through the musky air. "One minute, you get one minute and them you go back to your castle and think over my littler offer. Remember is you are not on this boat accepting my proposal by midnight tomorrow I will behead your father, and slit your mothers throat, am I understood?" I nod without making a noise and Hans unlocks the door, far too slow for my liking.

I rush past everyone in the hallway once the wooden door open s and barely register it swing shut behind me. My father is gaunt and coated in dried mud, my mother mirror his condition. Their eyes hold a thousand warnings, telling me to leave them and get out, to keep myself safe. I ignore them. Tears slid down my face, I never thought I would be able to look at my parents again. My hands shake, and my fingers are numb as I struggle with the gag my mother has wrapped around her face.

To my horror the gag starts to freeze, I am losing control. I wrench my hands away from my mother's face and back myself into the corner of the room. Frost is spilling out across the wooded floor and nothing I am trying has any effect of it. The mumbles of concern from my parents crush my heart, they have spent three years in captivity and may have undergone countless forms of torture, and they are worried about me.

"I'm sorry." The apology falls from my trembling lips. I pull my knees in and fight back the sobs tearing at the back of my throat. I do not know how to fix this, I cannot make Hans my king, but I cannot let my parents die. "I don't know what to do." My mother shuffles near me and I flinch away from her, I am spiralling through every defense I have protecting my powers and I do not want to explode.

She ignores my flinch and continues shuffling, with a quick flick of her head she dislodges the gag and sends it to hang loosely by her neck. Though she has aged by only three years her face shows far more than that, she has not been kept in hospitable places. "Elsa, it's ok." Her voice is melodic and pierces through the terror building within me. "Honey, look at me, you are going to be fine." How is it that she is calming me down, telling me everything will be fine? Should it not be me who calms her down and assures her everything will be fine?

The door swings open to show Hans, has it been a minute? It feels like a life time, but also like a fraction of a frantic second. I feel his hands wrap around my upper arm and pull me from the room. "NO, No, no." The screams break free from my throat and I am thrashing about again, desperate for every second I get to spend with my parents. "I'm going to save you. Everything will be fine. Please I'm so sorry." I can only hope my mother and father hear me as I shout at the closing door.

"Elsa, this is redundant. You're not stronger than me, and you won't risk using your powers because if this boat goes down, so do your parents." He's right. I can't let my parents die, after three years of thinking they had drowned I cannot let them die.

"How are they here?"

Hans' voice is smug when he answers. "I was waiting for you to ask. Remember that disappearing ship business three years back? Well, there was a bit of floating wreckage that your beloved mother and father managed to cling too; it carried them to the shore of the Southern Isles. I found them and managed to sneak them into a prison cell. I needed a pet you see, I was alone and ignored with so many older brothers, so I enjoyed seeing what they could take. So when I was invited to your little coronation I was excited, if I couldn't get either of you to marry me I had _persuasion._" The glimmer of insanity is back in Hans's eyes, it is a bomb, and I do not want to be around when he goes off. "So, I am confident that you understand the stakes, get back to your little party and think over my offer."

Before I can say another word I am being guided out of the hallway and off the ship by some thugs. They all wear tattered muddy cloths and blank expressions. The crew have lowered a secondary row-boat and I am being pushed toward it. I cannot bring myself to fight; if I fight my parents' lives are at risk. I slide my way down the rope ladder and grasp the cold wooden ores. My mind numbs and I manage my way back to shore with my arms rowing without my consent.

I brush off the question directed at me by the harbour works and Kai. I do not know how to explain what I have just been through I run through the city and sprint along the cobble walkway and though the castle entrance, without looking back I can tell I am leaving a fine layer of slick ice behind me, and that every time my foot touches the ground blasts of chilled air shoot out and around me. I manage to make it all the way to outside the double doors of the ballroom. Then I cone to the sudden realization that I do not know how to tell Anna. Can I possibly tell her knowing that she is on top of the world now and knowing that the news I bear will send her plummeting.

I have to tell her, we cannot have awful secrets like this anymore. Thirteen years of silence taught me that. So I am rather confused when I find myself sliding through the double doors as discreetly as one can, and deliberately ignoring the eye contact Anna is trying to make with me. I know if I meet her gaze I will break, I will not be able to hold back the tears or suppress my shaking hands.

I turn away from a mass of dukes only to find that Anna is immediately behind me. "Where did you disappear off to?" Her voice has vague hints of betrayal in it. I do feel rather awful about leaving her to fend of the royals on her own, but the feeling is drowned by the thought of Hans's graphic threats.

"I had to tend to…" My mind races of an excuse while I try to keep from being sick at the image of my father's sad eyes and my mother's tattered figure. "Things." I finish rather lamely forcing my powers to stop stirring, to stop pushing at the edges of reality and to stay put where they can not do harm.

"Things." Anna echoes. "Fine we can leave it at that, but only because you look as if you've seen a ghost, that you're going to be sick." I notice a few gossiping women shooting me snooty looks, oh god is it really that obvious. I reach out to take a glass of wine from a waiter in a desperate attempt to seem at ease and calm, both of which I am not sure I will ever be again.

It burns my throat on the way down, for I do not drink with the exception of a small glass of champagne when the occasion calls for it, but at least the drink gives me several seconds more to think of an excuse for my overly shaken appearance. I can think of none and excuse myself from the situation before Anna can question my further.

I will tell her tomorrow. Leave her with one more day in which life makes sense. She does not need to find out right away. I duck behind a passing group and follow them to the door, right as I reach for the handle I hear a voice call my name, a royal from someplace, the specific name escapes me. My fists clench and my nails return to the groves they have dug in to my palms. "Yes?" I ask with as polite a tone as I can muster.

"Your majesty?" The royal, a young woman with a delicate and elaborate hairdo, asks. "Please pardon my intrusion, but many of us wonder," She gestures to the women around her, "If you intend to take a husband soon, or ever, what with your sister being younger than you and already being engaged." This woman's straightforwardness has both startled and repulsed me. Why does she think she can ask me such personal questions? Since when was my love life worthy of gossip?

"No. I do not have immediate plans for marriage, not that it is any of your business." I explain to the woman, holding back as much contempt as I can. I do not like it when people pry, and this woman's irritating smirk leaves me wishing I could let my powers lose for just a moment.

I exit the ballroom leaving the woman and her friends behind. Once outside I realize the full crushing weight of what I have learned. I cannot let my parents die, that is the one truth that must remain constant. Hans has left me with an impossible choice and no one to turn to for advice. I am on my own in this; however I have had thirteen years to practice being alone. At least those years will not be entirely wasted.

Hans's left me with a terrible choice, but had he known me at all he would have understood that this was never up for debate. From the moment I saw my parents bound gagged and very much alive I knew that I would have to agree to whatever was asked of me. I am not proud of how easy it is for Hans to exploit my weakness, but my shame will do nothing for my parents. Tomorrow, long after every fire in Arendelle has been put out I will board that wretched ship and agree to marry Hans.

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**What did you think? It was just a few hundred words longer than the last one so it's still kinda short, but the next one I have waiting for you is longer... By like a hundred Words. It will be out in approximately a week-ish. **

**Review? maybe? yes?**

**-Whovian123**


	7. Chapter 7

**So, this is the last of the pre-loaded chapters I have ready while I'm on vacation, it won't be more than a week before I upload though. That's my goal, to upload at least once a week. **

**Also, it's really lame having an ****off set blue circle as cover art, if you are an artist and would like to make a piece for this story please PM me, or if you have already created something and feel it would fit nicely with my story please contact me, you will be credited.**

**I hope you like this one, it's "hint-y"...**

**Dislaimer: I do not own frozen, all the rights belong to the proper owners.**

**-Whovian123**

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It is several minutes before midnight and I feel as though I am going to be sick. I have just left my bedchambers, twisting the brass door handle with shaking hands. I feel like a teenager, sneaking through corridors and ducking past guards. The thudding of my heart echoes in my ears while I wait pressed to the wall and cloaked in shadows, for a maid to pass by. As the footsteps trail away and the world becomes still and silent and I release the tension in my stance and lurch down the hallway praying that I am not seen.

The castle is easy to leave undetected, however getting past the guards watching the outside proves rather difficult and requires well-timed sprints and forgoing normal breathing patterns. With patience and cunning I manage to reach the village which is far simpler to get through, so simple in fact, that I may let my mind wander.

As it always seems to do, my mind wanders to Anna, and my parents. She had talked about them today, Hans too; it was if she knew about it all, as if she had spent the night inside of my head thinking the same thoughts as me. I shudder at the thought of Anna thinking the same thoughts as me, she deserves so much better.

The sun had hung low in the sky as Anna and I strolled through the gardens, Kristoff was out-of-town managing the ice trades. She was timid when she asked me if I thought Mum would have liked him, it was all I could do not to cry. I told her that she would have and Dad too. I cannot imagine anyone disliking Kristoff; he has hit every mark and surpassed every test. He even manages to use the proper cutlery, in the proper order, when at dinner.

Our parents may still be alive, but today they have hung over my shoulders like ghosts, reminding me that I have their fate perched on my decision. At least I can do Anna a favour and make sure that her mother is there for her wedding, and that her father can walk her down the aisle. Though I may end up selling out in everything I believe I know it will be worth it to see Anna's face when our parents return from the dead and re-enter her life.

The tainted air from yesterday brings me out of my thoughts and back to earth, back to the cruel twisted world where I am being forced in to marriage through blackmail. A rowboat is being rocked back and forth by the rhythm of the fjord. I slip in to it trying to cause as little disturbance in the water as possible, then with my hands gripping the oars tighter than I thought myself able, I row toward the ship. It is silhouetted by the bright moon giving it an ethereal quality that leaves me feeling empty and cheap.

I do not feel the ache I expect in my arms when I reach the boat, but I suppose that the trend of numbness has extended beyond my mind and in to my body. Hans is waiting for me, his face composed without as much as a flicker of emotion breaking through. I am sure mine is the opposite, a suspicion which is confirmed by the words Hans speaks. "Looking a little frazzled aren't we? Has it been a difficult day?" I spit at his feet trying to maintain a modicum of power in the situation, a choice which I regret seconds later as I find myself forced up against the railing of the ship, Hans's hand tugging at a fistful of my hair and his face so close to mine that I cannot see his eyes without crossing my own. "I don't want your sass, ok? I want an answer." His voice is angry and hissing, his perfect composure has broken for a minute and the man I see hiding behind it scares me more than anything else ever has.

"Yes." I do not want to beat around the bush, there was never a choice, I knew what I had to do the moment I saw the helpless eyes of my parents, and know I am just following through.

"Smart girl, I'll train you up into fine wife material."

"Now let my parents go."

"Oh Elsa, how cute, they are not going anywhere, if they go free you might get cold feet and leave me. No I keep them forever; your reward is knowing that I did not kill them."

"No, you can't keep them, let them go. Please I just want them to see the sun again." I sound pathetic, but I cannot bring myself to care. I need my parents to be safe.

Hans chuckles to himself, and then, quick as the snake that he is, flicks his foot out and jams it into the back of my knee, my legs give out and I am sent sprawling on to the floor. My face hits the damp wood and my arm is twisted in a way that wrenches my shoulder. That bastard, what kind of sick animal is capable of this much self-importance. "You ought to stop giving me orders. It's simply not going to work out for you that way." He says squatting down to be at a level closer to my current one.

"I don't think it's going to work out for me either way." I refuse to let my voice waver as I speak. I need to seem strong if I am to survive, I have to be strong. Stronger than I think I am capable.

Hans, having straightened up, brings his foot down on my shoulder blades and sets an uncomfortable pressure on my back. "I don't care what you think. I only care what you do; because that's the only way you can screw up my plans." I do not respond. I feel as though I may have pushed Hans too far and I do not want to gamble with my parents' lives. I need them to be ok. "Three weeks from now you will host a ball, and at this ball you will announce our engagement." Hans's voice drawls as he instructs me on what I will do and how I will ruin my life. "You will be happy and perfect, the quietest fiancé a man could want."

"Can I see my parents?" I ask, feeling broken and defeated.

"No."

"What? Not even for a moment?" I ask, my spirit flickering back to life, and my powers beginning to roil up inside me.

"Of course not, what do I look like, an idiot? You may, however, spend seven minutes with them after you have announced our engagement, only if you announce it well and play your part properly."

Play my part? Does he not understand that this is my life that I am going to have to forfeit all of my morals if I do indeed announce the engagement, if it can even be called that? Will there be a wedding, is he serious about forcing me to go through with this, have I sacrificed my entire life for this? Even if I have it is still worth it, I tore my family apart and know I have been given a chance to bring them back together, I cannot let it slip through my fingers.

"Get her back in the boat; I'm done with her for today." Hans shouts as some thugs by the railing while removing his foot from my shoulder blades. "I'll be at the ball, so remember to wear something pretty, I need nice arm candy." He adds in a low whisper that sends me running toward the row-boat.

I don't sleep when I make it back to the castle; I sit on the edge of my bed shaking and spilling frost out on to the world around me. My knees press into my chest and I have my arms wrapped around me so tight everything feels numb. I need to not feel right now, everything needs to stop and I need to be stronger and better than I am. I need to be what I wasn't thirteen years ago when I hurt Anna.

Every surface of my bedroom is coated in a thick layer of ice when I lose the ability to stay upright and fall into the now rather cold blankets of my bed. My hand breaks free from its cramped position and claws at the quilting until it is wrapped around me in a haphazard cocoon. My eyes try to close but I will not let them, because if they do for even a second the image of my parents burns against the blackness, taunting me, telling me that I am worthless, and that I will never be able to help them no matter how hard I try.

The windows in my room start to let in the rising sunlight and I realize that I have not slept a wink; I do not mind all that much though I doubt sleep could make me feel any better. Anna will be asleep still; it cannot be later than six o'clock which means I have several hours to myself. I do not do anything at all during the next four hours.

Anna comes knocking wondering where I have been and saying that the servants are worried and so is she. I pull myself from my nest of blankets and open my door, trying to look as well rested as possible. I am all too aware that Han's would not take kindly to Anna realising something is wrong. "Yes Anna?"

"You weren't at breakfast, and no one's seen you all day, I wanted to check and make sure you were ok, are you?" Anna's eyebrows are scrunched up with worry and she tries to peer into my room, a view which I am doing my up most to block seeing as everything in my room is coated in jagged ice.

"Yes, I'm fine, just enjoying a lie in." I answer as I step out of my door way and shut off the view of my room.

"You never sleep in though." Anna states.

"People change." I argue with a little too much aggression, I see Anna's face morph in fear for no more than a moment and then in to pity.

"Let's get some breakfast, ok?" She suggests in a light tone that tells me she does not hold any grudges or ill will toward me. Anna is far too kind; I do not deserve her kindness.

Regardless I nod and set out down the hallway with her. We make meaningless small talk and enjoy the reassuring presence of each other. We are a team, and even though I cannot ever let Anna know of the deal I have struck with Hans I can still pretend that that we are in it together and that she has my back.

Our breakfast is cold by now, but I do not mind and if Anna does she hides it well. She babbles on about Kristoff and their wedding while I force bites of apple down my dry throat, I need a way of having our parents freed for Anna's wedding. I will dedicate the rest of my life to being good enough that Hans lets our parents attend Anna's wedding if I must.

Anna and I retire to the stables after out late breakfast. Kristoff is still out on official ice business and was worried Sven might get lonely so he asked Anna if she could check up on him every once in a while. He slobbers all over Anna's face when she gives him his morning carrot, and looks to my hands for another carrot, but quickly loses interest when he sees that I have none. Anna takes to animals in a way that I cannot, though I am sure it helps a bit when they like you as well.

I do not mind though, I am sure Anna found herself wasting countless hours in here with the horses while I ignored her knocking three years ago. To make up for my shameful absence I am going to get her parents back to her, one way or another they will be back and she can rest easy in their arms knowing she is safe. I wonder what it must be like to rest in the arms of another, completely at ease and free.

Maybe, just maybe, for a fraction of a second, I am jealous of Anna. It's awful, of course, but I wish that I could bear the burden of keeping our parents alive with someone, instead of just pretending to have support. Pretending is for children and it will never make a difference because it is not real. I am not doing this with Anna, I am doing this for Anna, and that is not something I can let myself forget.

**Sooo, what cha think? Please do tell me where I've gone wrong, or what you like and dislike, reviews are the best thing ever and I really like to know what you think of this story. **

**Thank you so much for reading. **

**-Whovian123**


	8. Chapter 8

**Sorry I'm a bit late on this update, I was away for longer than I anticipated, and when I got back I hit a brick wall trying to write this. I'm trying to lay the ground work for everything I have planned. I have quite a bit planned.**

**Also I still need cover art. If you have made any, or would like to make any, let me know. K?**

**Disclaimer:**** I do not own frozen, all the rights belong to the proper owners. **

** -Whovian123**

"I found a necklace." Anna looks up at me from her, now empty, dinner plate. Her voice is a forced kind of casual, as if she is brimming with excitement but wishes to keep it a secret. I make a small murmur of acknowledgement, indulging in her enthusiasm and protecting the flicker of trepidation hiding in her features. "It was in the back of a drawer, in the kitchen, I don't know how it got there. I had to polish it, and I had the chain fixed." Her gaze turns to Kristoff, whom is eating dinner with us, searching for what can only be reassurance. "It was mum's necklace."

That sentence sends a ripple of terror thought my body. Our mother's necklace, the mother that I had seen not more than a week ago, while and Anna still believes her dead. "I want you to have it." Anna says with a note of temptation. "You never got to say goodbye, well you did, but not like I did." Her voice is soft and melts into my ears, the tender sincerity of it ripping holes through my heart. How could I do this, how could I let her go on everyday thinking our parents to be dead?

The absolute least I can do is turn down the necklace, Anna needs it. She needs something to remind her of our mother, I already have the threat of her murder hanging over my head. "I couldn't Anna, you keep it." I force the words out while trying to hold back the images of my mother bound and gagged.

"I'm not listening." Anna says clamping her hands over her ears, and squeezing her eyes shut. Her immaturity is charming if a bit unorthodox for a princess. Proving just how determined she is for me to have the necklace she raises from her chair a walks around to the back of mine. I offer weak protests, and half thought out arguments on why Anna is far more deserving than me.

Warm hands reach forward to pull my hair back in a wonderful and reassuring way. With my hair out-of-the-way Anna slides the necklace into place and closes the clasp without so much as a fumble. Anna's touch offers me a comforting feeling which reminds me so much of our mother. Only now do I get a proper look at the gold charm, it is a comforting stretched diamond shape with a murky violet stone set into the center and intricate scroll work scaling up and around the piece. I remember my mother wearing it often during mine and Anna's childhoods, it offers me a sickening feeling, a pulling and scraping along my neck. The craftsman is flawless and not responsible for my discomfort, the cause of that lies in my heavy heart.

Anna has returned to her seat and is working her way through a slice of chocolate cake while making small talk with Kristoff. I bring my hand to my chest and touch the precious metal, it feels sharp and angry, as if it knows this is a sham and that I do not deserve to do so much as glance at it. I need to get it off. Without thinking my hand is at the chain, my fingers wrapping around the delicate links ready to pull.

"Wouldn't you agree Elsa?" In a flash I have my hands clasped in my lap, with the absence of necklace tingling in my fingers. My head snaps toward Anna, trying to make sense of what I am to answer. Fortune seems to have pity on my for this one moment in my life and Anna repeats the question without my asking. "Kristoff thinks I should carry around a dagger for protection. It's completely ridiculous though I don't need protecting, and even if I did, Kristoff would be around, and you too. No one would dare try anything with you guys around." My fingertips prickle with frost at the thought of someone hurting Anna.

Before I get a chance to give any response Kristoff uses the elephant in the room to prove his point. "Hans tried." Anna expression changes and takes on a darker look, an almost scared look.

"We agreed to never bring that up again." Anna says, notes of venom creeping into her voice.

"You died Anna. For a moment you were ice. Your heart couldn't beat and I thought mine was going to stop." Anna's mouth hangs open, her voice failing to make words and instead sounding only in vague squeaks.

"It's in the past." Anna says; regret pushing at the edge of her voice. "I wasn't thinking straight, I let him get to close and I paid the price. I can't go a day without remembering the danger I put you all in, and it haunts me at night."

The dining hall is all but silent for a moment, the only whisper of noise being the breathing of Kristoff, Anna, and myself. I am struck with the feeling of misplacement, as if for some reason I am where I should not be and cannot find the proper way to leave. Anna and Kristoff are stuck in a staring match charged with unspoken emotions. I try to move everyone forward by picking up my fork and eating the dinner that I have allowed to grow cold.

"Fine." Anna gives in. "I'll carry a small dagger, but I am sure I will never need it."

"Thank you." Kristoff's voice is gentle and grateful. The young couple share a glance loaded with emotion and then turn back to their individual slices of cake.

I excuse myself, not wanting to intrude any longer. My steps echo against the stone walls and my breath comes in quick gasps which sting in my chest. The charm on the necklace is balancing on my chest, taunting me with a relentless pressure on my heart. I do not make for my room; instead I let my feet dictate where I will end up, leaving my head to race through frivolous thoughts of pain and loss.

My hands paw for the necklace as I sink to the ground behind a corner of some secluded castle wing. The metal rests in my hand as I stare at the distorted reflection of my face. What I see is exactly how I feel, fluctuating, distorted, half alive, and half dead. This smooth piece of biting gold was my mother's favorite necklace, how can I ever deserve it?

I cannot put coherent thought together as evidenced by the fact that I have taken to the streets in an ill thought-out attempt to see my parents. I waited a few hours, curled up in the hallway, a pathetic mess of quaking muscles and confusing muttering.

The sun has since set and the streets are void of villagers. I try not to dwell on what a poor idea this is. How can I manage to sneak on to a boat? I know almost nothing about boats; they did not often come up in the assigned reading from my youth.

I could not bring myself to take the necklace off. As much as I know it is a travesty to wear it I cannot take it off. It comforts me in an awful way, because I know that the moment my mother sees it she will demand that I take it off. She will tell me of the disgrace I am and the shame I bring. She will clasp the gold diamond in her hand, sharp perfect nails clicking lightly as they brush against the charm, and look at me with those disappointed eyes that followed me through my childhood.

All too soon, yet not quick enough at all, I find myself at the edge of the docks. I cannot go any farther without falling into the fjord, and no rowboats are nearby. I am jittery on my feet, desperate to get even a glimpse of my mother and father, because, though I know I am a disappointment, they reassure me. They allow me to pull the pieces of my mind back together and they give me the strength to carry on.

Frost, frost has started to creep out from under my feet. It is spreading itself across the wooden slats and if I cannot rein in control soon it may reach the water below. As flashbacks from my coronation blast through my head I remember how I ran across the water, kept up by a thin layer of ice beneath my feet.

Without so much as a second thought to realize just how ridiculous my plan is I bolt over to a ladder and hurry my way down toward the gushing water. Frost is still dripping from my feet and fingers, and quickly latching on to the water creating a weight-bearing layer of sharp ice. I sprint out to the ship, talking little notice of the elegant night and the glittering stars.

The ship rocks in the waves as I clamor up its side with dexterity I did not know I had. Only once I am lying breathless on the slippery deck do I realize the full absurdity of what I have done.

"What are you doing?" A malicious voice asks from above my exhausted from. "You were supposed to wait for me to send a list with the invitees for our engagement party." I feel myself being dragged up and forced to face Hans. "However I can see how eager you are, so I'll fetch it now."

"No." My voice is weak, yet it still grates against my tight throat. "Please, I need to see my parents. Please."

"Good lord. Elsa are you trying to appeal to my inner goodness, possibly even evoke a feeling of compassion?" Hans's voice is a mixture of derision and outright mocking. His polished shoes click against the wood with a dull muted sound. He is pretending to think about my request, though we both know what he will say. "I'm going to have to say no, though I have to add that your parents have talked about you a lot lately."

Bastard, that awful, spineless, shameful bastard, I will see him to his grave. My arms lash out, weak and tired, trying to land any sort of blow. I need to see my mother and father. I need something to get me back under control seeing as I am spiralling out of it in a rather scary and wild fashion. "Please, please, you don't understand. I need to see them; my powers are out of my control, only they can help me." A sharp slap to the cheek ends my shameless begging.

"Wench, know your place, you have no authority to demand anything of me, and you will be wise not to do so again, otherwise your parents might find their hearts stopping."

I am silent now, afraid that my rapid heartbeat may be disturbance enough for Hans to follow through with his threat. He holds my furious gaze for a few moments longer and then disappears into the ship's cabin, presumably to retrieve the list he mentioned earlier.

I start with the hands holding me in place; they freeze with little effort, though the bodies they are attached to prove more difficult and have to be detained within a corral of ice. After that it is just a matter of remembering which hallways I was dragged down before. I hit a few dead ends, and the more dead ends I come across the more commotion I hear on the deck above me, I cannot afford to get it wrong again, thankfully I do not.

My parents are bound and gagged just as before. I do not notice any fresh wounds, which is a small inconsequential victory, but a victory none the less. I do not know what I came to do, or to say. I stand in the doorway like a bumbling idiot. My mother's eyes are wide and worried, and my father's face is a picture of startled concern.

I try to force something out of my mouth, a simple hello or something equality as inappropriate for the circumstances, but my throat feels like sand paper and I cannot force my lips apart. Thundering footsteps are sounding along the hallway behind me. I have seconds at most, not enough time for more than a sentence or two and absolutely no time for a reply.

I don't know what to say, so I speak for Anna. "We miss you. We miss you so much and I will do everything in my power to make sure you get to see the sky again." There they are, my two sentences, ringing in the air. They are not enough, they will never be enough, and they are so empty. Then the door swings open.

Hans is not happy, that much is obvious from his scathing gaze and the harsh rising and falling of his chest. Quick as a snake his arm lashes out and takes my shoulder in a grip which is far too tight. His fist is fast, far faster than I could have dodged. Strong solid knuckles collide with the side of my face, and then my vision is cloudy. My legs give out and I am held up by nothing more than Hans' abrasive grip.

"You idiot! What did you think was going to happen? That you were going to just waltz in here and get out with your parents?" His eyes squeeze shut and he lets out several deep breaths. "Let's get you out of here, I don't want to fight in front of my soon to be in-laws."

I see a flash of my parents' faces and then I am in the thin hallways of the ship being dragged by my arms up towards the dock. My powers have caught up with the situation and are starting to bounce around, trying to break out and cause damage. Trails of frost mark where my feet are dragging behind my body. I struggle in vain, because if I do not struggle I will hate myself.

"Life," Hans begins as he throws me to the dock of the ship, a place I am getting all too familiar with, "Will get very hard for you if you insist of defying me."

My eyes are still watering from the blow to my temple and I cannot think straight enough to respond. I want to fight; I want to take everything Hans has loved and make him feel the way I do now, splayed out on the ground, in pain and overwhelmed.

Alas, I cannot do more than whimper as Hans hits me again and then casts an immaculately folded and sealed piece of paper, which I assume, is the list he had mentioned earlier. I clutch it in my hand, my fingers to tight against the paper, ruining the seal and destroying the crisp newness.

"Invite everyone on that list, and don't you dare come back here unless I send for you, otherwise you won't have a father anymore." The threat sends me scrambling towards the ladder off the ship, a row-boat has been placed at the base which I climb into, eager to get away from the snide stare of Hans, but reluctant to leave my parents at his mercy.

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**So? What did you think? Please tell me. I don't want to beg… but…. *gets on knees* please, please review. I don't even care what's in the review anymore, if you want to tell me, in detail, all about your last bowel movement then so be it.**

**Also, I kinda put off an forgot to mention those who have reviewed, so here it is, sorry about how late it is though. **

**Aamp:**** Thank you very much. **

**KaleidoscopeHeavens: FLAGHAHAKLLJGUFDCHDSSSSSD indeed. **

**BookwormWithTape: I must apologize, because Elsa will not have as easy a time with Hans as you described. (Whovians for life!) **

**Belindana8: I hope you can like this story without helsa. **

**Ondjage: Warning, there is a slight theme of romance centered mainly around Kristoff and Anna.  
**

**Slightkaze: Thank you. **

**-Whovian123**


	9. Chapter 9

**Hi, I'm sorry this is so short. I have big plans for next chapter though and couldn't fit it all in this one. At least i got this out in under a week, that counts for something, right?**

**Regardless****, please enjoy the exploits of our favorite queen. **

**-Whovian123**

**Disclaimer: I do not own frozen, all right belong to the proper owners. **

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I sneak my way back into the castle after my little "encounter" with Hans, my head pounding along with my rapid heartbeats. The door to my study is heavy and taxing on my aching muscles. Not that I give them much thought as I sit at my desk, scrawling out an invitation for every name written on the now crumpled list.

A single candle casts the light that I write by. The room is draped in spooky shadows and my heart is pounding far too fast to be healthy. Ink stains my hand in small streaks that I hope will go unnoticed by Anna. Anna can never know what I do to keep our parents alive. She is too young and pure to know the terrors life is capable of.

I scrawl out the last invitation, seal it within an envelope. With trembling hands I wave the list of names through the flame of the candle, turning the thin dry paper to ashes. I cannot risk anyone finding any evidence of this backhanded deal I have been corralled into. Wanting to waste no more time I leave my study in search of someone, possibly Kai, who can send the letters out to their recipients.

* * *

As I hand over the invitations to Kai I feel ill, at this point there is no going back. Though of course I could feign the reason for the party, claim it is nothing more than a causal gathering, seeing as the reason for the gala is stated nowhere on the invitations. Though if I did in fact change my mind and abort the engagement I can be sure to have many more welts on my temple.

"What are you doing?" Anna asks, poking her head around a corner to see me handing over the thick wad of envelopes.

"Nothing." I answer a little faster than I should have, as Kai hobbles down the hallway with the invites.

"Nope." Anna says with a quizzical eyebrow. "That was definitely something."

I pause for a moment too long, trying to think up any lie broad enough to cover the truth. "Party, I'm planning a ball of sorts." I feel my muscles tense as I wait to see whether of not that snippet of information is enough to sedate Anna's relentless curiosity.

"What for?" Anna asks.

"Does there have to be a reason?" I ask with the most innocent tone I can muster. "I just felt like socializing."

"You never 'just socialize'." Anna states.

"I do now." I reply and then change the subject as fast as I can. "You're up rather early, aren't you?"

Anna's face loses all the worry and confusion it had sprouted before and becomes a picture of excitement. "Yeah, I kinda am, but I couldn't sleep because I had the best idea ever…" Anna pauses, for what I can only assume is dramatic effect, and then shouts out. "ICE SCULPTURES."

Anna stands in front of me with her hands in the air to emphasise what a fantastic idea this is. "Anna I am going to need a little more than that." I ask, with no small note of fear, curious about what Anna's overactive imagination may have cooked up.

"Mine and Kristoff's wedding, there can be ice sculptures, and you have ice powers. So I was thinking, maybe you could whip them up with your magic." Anna's voice is halting as she springs from one thought to the next. It is easy to see that she is trying hard to express something, but cannot seem to get it out the way she intends.

I place my hand on her shoulder, and try to not feel hurt that she flinches under my cool touch. "I would be honored to 'whip up' any number of ice sculptures for your wedding." Anna eyes morph from nervous to ecstatic.

"Oh thank you, thank you. I can't wait to tell Kristoff. He's going to be so excited. I can't wait!" Anna gushes and then runs off down the hallway. She will be looking for Kristoff eager to share her news and to be in his company.

Now alone in the hallway I take a deep breath, and allow my hands to shake and my stomach to roil. For a moment I consider chasing Kai and trying to get the invitations back before he has a chance to send then off. I know I cannot though, I cannot let my fear get the better of me, and I have to go through with this. I have to go through with this for Anna, and our parents.

It occurs to me now that I have not taken off the necklace. I bring my hand up to feel it, flipping it over in my trembling fingers. I cannot take it off now, I want to, but my hands will not let me. My subconscious seems to know that I need to wear this violet jewel to maintain my composure. My mother always maintained immaculate composure. She carried herself with the grace and dignity a queen should have. I struggle every day to maintain that which came so easily to her.

She was not all straight backs and controlled smiles though, she was everything Anna is, bright excited and full of zeal and energy. I do not know what she is now though. I hope with everything I am that she has maintained your unique personality, that Hans has not destroyed everything that made her who she was.

I let the necklace fall against my chest and carry on down the hallway, channelling as much of my mother as possible. My posture is as perfect as I can manager and my face is a mask of calm as I step into the throne room. I try to avoid this room as much as possible. I hold meetings other places, and discuss matters over dinner and not from a throne.

The thrones unnerve me, not simply because they were where my parents rules from, but because of the sharp finality of everything said from them. When a law was decreed from a throne no one dared challenge it, which in theory is ideal, but a King or Queen is not infallible. I worry often that I am ruling wrong, that one day I will wake up to a riot at the castle walls.

Or rather, the thrones would unnerve me if there was not a tiny snowman sitting in one with a broad grin stretched across his face. "Olaf?" He looks over to me and lets out a little giggle.

"These chairs are comfy." Olaf's voice is a picture of giddiness, and unadulterated joy.

"You silly snowman, those are thrones." I tell him, a slight smile creeping on to my face.

"Oh. Why don't you use them?"

"Because… I don't want people to feel like I am above mistakes."

"What do you mean?"

"Well." I struggle to find a way in which Olaf can understand this. "Do you see how much higher you are than me right now?" I gesture to myself and then him, displaying the steps in front of the throne, and the superiority of the seat. "That makes people think that you will ignore your mistakes, or that they should not try to reason with you."

"So, if I ask you to let me have cookies for breakfast everyday you'll say yes?" Olaf asks with a glimmer of mischief in his eyes.

"Of course not silly. I am immune to the powers of a throne." Oh I do so hope that I am immune. I could not bear to become a ruthless dictator, drunk with power, and strangling the country, taking away any hope of a future. "However, you can run to the kitchen and tell them I said you can have _one _cookie before lunch."

Olaf jumps down off the throne and bounces down the stairs, wraps his thin arms around my legs in a hug and bolts out of the room and towards the kitchen.

I stare up at the thrones where I remember so vividly my mother and father sitting. They were never influenced by the power one gained from being a leader. They managed Arendelle with an elegance and tact I struggle to understand. Together they were perfect. They balanced each other and understood each other on a level no two other people ever have.

My knees give out and connect with the cold marble floor. The thrones are staring at me, judging me. I have failed my country and my parents by selling out and agreeing to a false marriage. The only reason I fell in to the agreement was to save my parents, and yet, I cannot help but feel as if I am failing them.

His smile, his acidic, soulless smile plays over and over again when I close my eyes. How can I do this? Is the motivation of having our father walking Anna down the aisle enough? Of course it is. I may hate every moment of it, but I have to do it.

"I'm sorry." I choke out the words with a gasp, sending ice crystals out into the air around me. "I am so sorry for what you have been put through." I am begging an empty room for forgiveness, but I have too. I need to let the world know that I am sorry for everything that Hans has done to my parents.

With my arms clasped around my waist I let my body drop to the floor with my knees and gasp like a fish out of water. Frost spirals out from where my body is curled up. I am overcome with my situation. How can I win? I cannot win. I do not even think I can survive.

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**So the ending is a bit cheesy and sorta jammed in there, but that's how it worked out. I promise that the next chapter will be twice as long.**

**I hope you liked it and I hope you review. **

**And a thanks to everyone that reviewed last update. **

**Tuckash:**** It's not going to be very easy-going for Elsa, things will get alot worse before they get any better, if they do in fact get better. Thank you for your massive review, its amazing to get those. **  


**KaleidoscopeHeavens: Thank you very much, Your continued support is amazing. I love knowing I can actually hold on to readers for multiple chapters. **


	10. Chapter 10

**Hullo my lovely's, has it been a nice day? I know this chapter is really early, but I was itching to let you read the engagement party. Also, longest chapter yet, so yeah, please enjoy, and maybe a review after? yes?**

**Also, I really need cover art, please let me know via PM if you would like to make any, i will credit the heck out of you and mention your amazingness to everyone. **

**-Whovian123**

**Disclaimer:**** I do not own frozen, all rights belong to the proper owners.**

* * *

"Thunk," the book I was holding is now on the ground and my heart is slamming away in my throat while my stomach has fallen though the floor. My room should be safe, it always has been. It is a place where nothing can touch me, a place where I can be at ease and let myself be calm, and not worry about hurting anyone, because no one is in it.

So why is Hans leaning back in my chair next to my bed. I slam the door behind me, afraid that someone may see him, not that it matters all the much seeing as I will be announcing my engagement to him later today.

"Oh, there you are Elsa; I've been waiting here for a while." Hans's voice is calm and smooth. If I could feel cold I am sure I would be overwhelmed with it right now, as my powers do not like being surprised, and this is most certainly a surprise.

"How did you get in here?" I demand, keeping my gaze on Hans as I bend down to pick up my book, which is now soldered shut by a coating of ice.

"Tut tut. Elsa, have you not a single kind word for your future husband?"

"How did you get in here?" I ask again, my voice betraying my panic though its pitch and volume.

"Elsa, sweetie, if you can sneak out to visit me, then obviously I can sneak in to check on you."

"Check on me" My voice rings in the air, terror starting to settle in as I fight the urge to call for help. "Get out now!" I plead, without meaning too, but I cannot dwell on that. All I want is for my room to be a safe again, free from the monster that is sullying my space.

All at once I regret being disobedient as Hans stands up from the chair and marches over to stand in front of me, so close that I can feel his awful smelling breath against my face, drowning me in its uncomfortable warmth.

The punch comes to my stomach this time. Close fisted and like an iron hammer. I double over, retching and gasping all at once, pawing at my stomach, trying to make the pain go away. Hans stands above me, a smile twisting his features. "Try not to get sick on my shoes; I would hate to have to make your mother polish them again."

"Bastard." I manage to force the insult out after a shallow breath.

Just as fast as he hits Hans has my hair in his fist and is pulling my head up, forcing me to look into his venom filled eyes. "Best not call me names honey, I have leverage, and that leverage might find themselves being whipped tonight." His threatens with an intense quick and quiet voice, spoken millimeters from my ear. "If you aren't careful that is. So do your best to please me."

Han moves back to his seat, and puts his boot clad feet up on what was my mother's desk. "How do you expect me to do this?" I ask, having recovered from the blow enough to manage short sentences.

"It's simple really, I expect you to betray everything you believe in because if you don't I will replace you with your sister."

Anna, no, no, no, not Anna, never Anna. To my grave I will go protecting my younger sister. She deserves a sibling so much better than me, so I will be the best that I can manage, and that means I cannot let Hans abuse her. I cannot let her know what it is to feel his fist collide with her flesh.

My eyes harden and I stare at Hans, hoping to look controlled and relaxed despite my state of panic. "Is that all?"

"Not quite." Hans drawls on. "You have to sell this, act like you simply can't live without me, like it's been torture hiding me from everyone." The double meaning in his last request is brutal and apparent to both of us.

"Out." I beg one final time.

"Are you telling me what to do, Elsa, Elsa, Elsa, you are a fool." Hans explains what I already know as he strolls over to the door that leads out to my balcony and leans against it. "I will be back for tonight, about eightish. One more thing, look at Anna, when you announce it, I want you to see the light go out from her eyes. Don't you dare mess this up honey."

Then with his threat hanging in the air, Hans turns away from me and pushes through the doorway and saunters out on to my balcony. He perches on the rail and then casts his gaze back toward me with more stinging words on his lips. "Remember, I won't hesitate to make you a proper orphan."

His arms flex and he pushes himself off of my baloney. Part of me thinks, for just a moment, that Hans has just committed suicide. The dark shadowed side of me is hopeful that he has taken care of himself, but as I rush to the railing and lean over to look down I see Hans sneaking along the walls of the castle and escaping back to his ship via a small rowboat that is bobbing around near some rocks.

My heart is heavy as I turn, and walk back toward my room. I am going to be made a mockery today, getting engaged to the man who tried to kill me and my sister. At least the details of his miss deeds are not widely now, however I doubt Anna will ever talk to me again after tonight.

"It's party day!" Anna shrieks excitement oozing from her voice. She is bouncing around, thrilled to spend the night dancing and talking. My door is clinging to its hinges as it springs back against the wall it was pushed against by Anna's overzealous entrance. I jump at the abruptness of the Anna's arrival and find the door handle, which I have closed, slick with ice.

"Anna, what are you doing?" I fight to keep my voice calm, to sound casual, to Anna this is nothing more than a simple party. I owe her a few more hours of bliss, and I am desperate to cherish the time before she changes her opinion of me and views me only as a traitor.

"Well, first I woke up really, really early because I couldn't sleep, and then I ate breakfast. After that I tried to find a dress to wear for tonight, which is why I need you. I don't have any!" Anna explains at a mile a minute, but having large amounts of practice deciphering Anna's speech it does not faze me all that much. Though the thought that Anna, Princess of Arendelle, does not have any dresses to wear does throw me for a loop.

"None, at all?" I ask, not believing her. "Your entire closet has not one dress?"

"Well." Anna starts drawing out her words in a way that indicates she may have stretched the truth, just a small bit. "Strictly speaking I have dresses, just none that I can wear, none of them look right. Tonight is going to be special, I can feel it, and a special night needs a special dress."

Special night, tonight will be a special night, just not the type Anna wants it to be, and not the type I want it to be. "Tonight will be like any other party Anna, there is no sense in working yourself up about it." I try to quell her excitement .The lower Anna's expectations are for tonight, the lower they have to fall when she finds out the true purpose of the party.

"Nope." Anna insists, relentless in her joy. "Tonight is going to be the start of something awesome. Its feels the same as your coronation."

That baffles me, my coronation was not awesome or special, it was not positive in any way. It was the day I let down my parents and my country by giving in to my powers and then running away like a coward. How can Anna think that is a day to be remembered fondly?

"What do you mean? My coronation was a disaster."

"Are you kidding me? Sure there was a little hiccup with the whole powers being exposed and eternal winter nearly destroying the whole kingdom, but without all of that happening you would still be in you room moping around and ignoring me. Also I met Kristoff because of the winter. Sometimes good things disguise themselves as bad things." Anna makes some valid points, though I struggle to see tonight ending in a positive fashion.

I do not have a response to Anna reasoning, so I address the previous conundrum. "So, you're out of dresses?" I muse aloud. "I have a few that would suit you nicely. You are welcome to try some on if you like."

Anna's eyes light up and her face takes on a grin which spreads from ear to ear. Without warning she rockets towards me and hugs me with a terrifying amount of strength for such a small women. "Thank you, thank you, thank you, you are the best sister ever."

I hope Anna does not notice the way I tense as she calls me the best sister ever. I am far from the best sister ever. In fact I am sure there is a place reserved for me at the opposite end of the spectrum as the worst sister ever.

I pat Anna on the back, keen to get her away from me before she notices just how icy her clothes are becoming. Her arms are far too tightly wrapped around my waist, she is so much more than I deserve. Her ability to love without restrictions and without fear reminds me of how much greater she deserves from a world that has been rather cruel to her in the past.

"So, what colour are you in the mood for? Pink? Green? My personal favorite blue?" I enquire while pulling her out of the hug and away from me. My chest is burning with that familiar harsh feeling that accompanies the uncontrolled outbursts of my powers.

"Tonight deserves only the best of the best; I think purple shall do rather nicely." Anna declares, a façade of sophistication coating her voice.

She clutches my elbow and pulls me into my bulky closet. I do not enjoy clothing the way that I see many other young women do, but I do have to be dressed regally for many events and occasions. Thus creating a collection of dresses I have worn but once.

Anna fawns over a yellow silk dress first, then a green one, while I clasp my hands together, trying to keep the frost that is inking down my arms from breaking free of my flesh and leaching out in to the air.

I am going to have to pull out an old pair of gloves for tonight.

* * *

Seven thirty, its seven-thirty, I have half an hour left before I won't be able to look my sister in the eyes ever again.

The sister in question is dancing, with her fiancé, in a lavender dress that she decided on after several hours of agonizing contemplation. She is glowing with bliss, she is in her element around so many people, she loves them and they love her.

The party is rather successful as parties go, everyone I as forced to invite made it to Arendelle in good time and with little incident. I do not recognize a large portion of the royalty and nobility parading around my castle.

Craning my neck I spot some interesting looking characters, such as, a woman with a hooked nose and green eyes, who looks to be rather old, angry, and olive-skinned. I also gain a brief view of a young man with bedraggled brown hair, and unshaven stubble of the same colour.

"Pardon me your majesty." A stately voice says, while the owner taps my shoulder and sends me turning around. "May I have a dance?" the voice belongs to a prince, who looks to be older than me, not by too much though, and is adorned in an elaborate orange military uniform speckled with more medals than I can count.

"I am terribly sorry, but I do not dance." I try to shake the overeager prince, but he seems rather focused on gaining a dance.

"I insist Queen Elsa; you will never want to stop dancing if you do so with me." This arrogant prince is starting to test my nerves. I have to put up with my share of overzealous princes whom wish to gain kingship over Arendelle, and most days I handle them with grace, but today I cannot find the strength to be kind in my rebuff.

"I _insist _that you find another woman to woo, for I am not so easily won." I seethe at the now flustered prince. He wastes no time scrambling around and running off in search of more gullible pray.

I shift the fabric of my gloves against my damp palms, twenty-three minutes left. I have not seen hide or hair of Hans and hope it remains this way, though I doubt Hans is the kind to just roll over and admit defeat. He could be doing something dreadful to my parents. He could be whipping my mother, or drowning my father. The fabric of my gloves is becoming rather stiff with frost.

A lofty man approaches me with his hard eyes trained on my face. He says nothing as he grasps my shoulder with a grip that is far too tight and far to firm to be friendly. I follow his not to gentle pushing out of the ballroom and in to the empty hallway, too startled and afraid to resist. This might be Hans's way of summoning me and if I don't comply he could kill my father.

Once in the hallways I see Hans, he is wearing the same outfit as the day of my coronation. Is that his idea of a joke, wearing the same outfit he got engaged to Anna in? "Have you had a pleasant evening sweetie? Sorry you had to manage the guests on your own, I was busy finding something to wear." His voice is calm and smooth, designed to agitate me.

I spit at his feet.

He cannot hit me right before I am going to speak to all of his guests, the people whom he wants to convince of our marriage. He can hit be later though. He can leave as many welts and bruises as he wants when the guests are in bed, fast asleep in a dream while I lay sprawled out on the floor, blood seeping from any number of gashes I may be issued.

For now I am safe though.

The man who took me away from the party grabs my left wrist at Hans's signal. He tugs my glove off and holds my bare hand out in front of Hans. For a moment I consider letting my powers lose and killing Hans, but before I can finish the thought a ring has been shoved on to my ring finger. Of course, keeping up appearances will require an engagement ring, I should have realized that.

"Come one, it's time for your big news. I'll come out and greet everyone when you announce the engagement." Han's says, with a tone so clean and clinical it scares me with its lack of anything definitive. "And for god sake, get rid of the other glove, you look like a lopsided idiot."

I walk back in to the party on autopilot, not thinking about where my feet are going, or even registering that they are hitting the ground. My glove slips off with ease and I drape it on the back of a chair as I walk to the raised front of the room.

I am not much higher than everyone else, but I can see their confused faces. Anna is at ease, not worried at all about what I have to say. She does not realize how awful what I have to say is. Clearing my throat silences the murmur that was rising through the crowd, and turns the remaining heads my way.

"I must confess that I did bring you all together here for an ulterior motive." I take a final deep breath before committing to what I am sure will kill me. "I brought you all here to announce my engagement."

There it goes. Anna's face is no longer assured. All pretense of calm has dropped from her face and been replaced with utter panic. I have to force the rest of the announcement out. I have to remind myself of what is at stake. "To Prince Hans of the Southern Isles."

I have seen the face Anna wears now, I have seen it once before, the night of my coronation, right after I lost control and she looked at me with hurt and betrayal. It is the kind of look that almost sends me to my knees, unable to stand knowing I have caused her so much pain.

Hans is standing next to me now, a perfect smile placed upon his lips, and only now do I realize why his guest list was so specific. No one who is privy to the details of my coronation is here. Everyone here has been handpicked to handle his announcement in the best and most enthusiastic manner. They will all bring their enthusiasm back with them to their respective nations. News of my engagement, and a positive reaction to it, will spread like wild-fire around the world.

Hans steps forward in to the crowd of onlookers with a snake-like smile. He greets guests, and tells some elaborate lie about how he proposed to me. I think I catch the words, "Dinner" and "Sunset" which is a far cry from the real story. Not that he could tell the real story.

Anna is making her way towards me now, anger scrawled through her features. I cannot face her. I don't know how to explain this away. She won't forgive me, I do not deserve forgiveness. So I run, I push past Hans and make my way out of the ball room and away from the "congratulations" being thrown out by random dignitaries.

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**So, you like it? Please let me know with a review.**

**-Whovian123**


	11. Chapter 11

**Hi, I have another chapter for you. i introduce another side character in this one, so let me know what you think of him. **

**I still need cover art, and you will still be credited, PM me if you are interested. **

**Disclaimer****: I own nothing, all rights belong to proper owners.**

**-Whovian123**

* * *

I have to get away, my mind is spinning and everything I touch is being coated with a fine web of ice. It is done now, I am engaged to Hans, the world knows it, and I can't take it back. Anna knows and will hate me for it. She will never understand why I had to do this. I do not understand why I had to do this.

As I charge through hallways and stumble around corners I feel my mother's golden necklace presses in to my heart, burning, reminding me, and telling me why I am doing this, why I have to do this. It lets me know that though what I may have to do is horrible I am doing it for my parents, and there is nothing I would not do to keep them alive.

Nothing.

The winter air takes the sharp edge away from my panic, though the chill may be caused by me rather than the season. I burst out of the castle and stumble out into the grounds. My shoes are digging in to my feet; the heels are far too high and impossible to balance on in my current deteriorated state of mind.

It is raining, stinging droplets pummel me over and over, making my face damp and mixing with the tears I cannot hold back; hiding them from me, allowing me to pretend I am not as weak as I know am. The cobble walkways are slick and my heels keep slipping into crevices sending me in odd directions and throwing me off course.

I have to leave, blundering my way through the castle gardens I realize that I cannot stay here. I have to leave. I already tried leaving once though. Flickering pictures of my coronation pepper my vision. I ran then and got nowhere exceedingly fast. This time is different though, I am not trying to run from myself, and there is a clear villain. I need to escape from Hans.

It is not raining any more, but snowing with a rather fierce wind. I try to stop it, to give the weather back to Mother Nature, whom is far more qualified to control it, but I am already far to lost. My hair is whipping around, getting caught in my mouth and in my eyes. I am an utter mess. Then something runs in to my chest right as i feel my powers pushing in to the open air in a violent crescendo.

I feel my head connect with the ice glazed ground and my vision blurs for a moment. As the world around me comes back into focus I see two large blue eyes hovering above my face, observing me. My cheek is now wet, with what feels like slobber, and I hear a distinct panting sound in my right ear. A dog, what is a dog doing here?

"Olaf!" A voice calls from around a rather tall hedge, which has been frozen solid by the halo of rime spreading out from my fallen body. Olaf? Was the dog called Olaf? "Are you ok? Olaf isn't usually like this." The voice explains as the owner runs in to view; the voice in question belongs to a young man with bedraggled hair and stubble. Stubble and hair which I recognize from the crowded ballroom, I had caught but a brief glimpse of him before he was swept away from the crowd earlier in the night.

"I am fine." My voice is strained and false. I am not fine, not even close, but telling a stranger that would end with bruises, and dead parents. The man, whom is pulling his excited dog off from on top of me, has no identification on his clothing, no badges of war, or crests of any kind. He wears a simple tunic and loose linen pants, not the garb for a party, but his body language suggests he is not the kind to care. His posture is proper with his shoulders sitting square, but not in a way that looks intentional. It seems effortless and second nature as opposed to the forced straight, shoulders pushed back posture of the royalty strutting around my ballroom.

Stubble offers me a hand, which I ignore, and then watches me struggle back to my feet with confused eyes. "You must be the Queen, if I am not mistaken." Stubble deduces while waving a hand at the frosty quality everything in the garden has taken up.

I offer a brief nod and then make to turn away.

"You don't look too thrilled for someone who just got engaged to a handsome prince." Stubble offers the comment with a perceiving sense that gives me pause.

"What makes you think that?"

"Mainly the little ice meltdown you were having. It didn't look the kind of thing that a happy woman would do."

"I get jittery around lots of people." I defend myself, anger tainting the edges of my words.

"It's not that you feel jittery, it's that you don't feel safe." Stubble explains while scratching behind Olaf's ears. The dog in question looks up at him with smart eyes.

"That's all very well but I really must be going." I decide while turning on my heel and heading back toward the party. The moments of clear thought while sprawled out on my ground reminded me of every reason I have to maintain my mask and follow through with the engagement. Why I cannot let my parents be killed.

Stubble strolls along beside me, content to follow me back to the party with his massive husky of a dog several paces behind him. Once at the high doors of the ballroom Stubble speaks out. "You have a dead leaf in your hair." He gestures to the top of my head. "Wouldn't want to ruin a good reputation with an awkward leaf."

"Thank you." I say as I reach up, wrench the leaf down, and throw it in to a potted plant sitting in a corner.

"You are most welcome."

"Please don't tell anyone what you saw out here."

"My word is yours."

With that final syllable I push open the heavy door and slip back in to the room undetected thanks to a rather animated story Hans appears to be telling to the crowded guests. The metal of my new engagement ring feels as if it has turned to lead, it pulls at my fingers and tugs my shoulder.

I clasp a glass of red wine between my hands, I prefer white, but I cannot manage to get my hands on any so red will have to do. Hans is finishing his story; a charming tale about the time he killed a wild bear to save a small child. I doubt the authenticity of it, but it will do me no good to question it.

Sipping the foul red liquid I try to quell the tremor racking through my body. I make to turn and walk away as Hans saunters his way towards me. "Elsa, sweetie, how are we?"

"Lovely." I respond as fast as I can, desperate to avoid the wrath of Hans. "Have you seen Anna?" The question is dangerous, but I cannot keep myself from asking, however with such a prominent crowd of eavesdroppers near us that I know Hans will err on the side of caution.

"She left after you, Kristoff ran off to find her." Han's explains in to my ear, his breath making me want to scream and run.

I doubt Anna will even tolerate being in the same room with me ever again, and to think, this morning I was being called the best sister ever. The things Anna must be thinking. I have to take it though, I have to let her hate me for her to get anything out of this situation. For her to have her parents back.

I feel guilty about having seen them. It was awful to have to see them that way, but at least I know they are more than skeletons at the bottom of the ocean. Anna does not have that peace of mind, or maybe it is me that lacks peace of mind. At least Anna gets to think their fate is no longer in limbo, and is instead complete and final. I go about my days worrying about what they may be undergoing and if Hans will be kind enough to grant them another day.

Hans places his hand on the small of my back with an oppressive pressure that lets me know if I pull a stunt like running out on him again he will hurt me in more ways than I can count. The pressure increases and I am being lead in to the fray of guests, my feet struggle to hold themselves in place, not wanting to move forward. I plaster on the most convincing smile I can and nod at all the right moments as Han's uses his false suavity and poise to charm everyone with whom he speaks.

"You too make the cutest couple." A woman, a princess by the clothes she is wearing, gushes at me.

"Thank you." Hans replies before I can even open my mouth to speak. "Also, I should mention, you are welcome back here in one month's time for our wedding." His voice rises as he begins addressing the room at large. "You are all invited to our wedding, one month from today."

The room erupts in to cheers, and I feel as though I am going to be sick. I am drowning, drowning in congratulations and well wishes, I hear everything around me with a muffled tone, and my chest feels as if it is being pressed upon by an invisible pressure. My legs refuse to support me, and as a result I am being held up by the grasp Hans has on my back, the grasp which is far too tight and much too aggressive.

"One month?" I hear a voice question airily, a voice that I feel a flicker of recognition for. "That doesn't give me enough time to leave." Stubble muses as he approaches me and Hans. He has donned a simple jacket, which I can only imagine someone demanded he put on to maintain civility.

"How so?" Hans asks with mild interest hiding in his voice.

"I live too far away, and the winter makes a hard journey harder." Stubble explains.

"Where do you live? I don't remember inviting you." Hans inquires rather bluntly.

"I was under the impression that Elsa invited me, and when I was invited this party hadn't yet been planned. I am from a rather new nation, well new to you, but very old to me and the citizens." Stubble explains with a knowing smile. "No one really bothered to see if anyone had made a home so far up north that half the year the sun shines, and the other half is does not."

"Interesting." Hans muses with derision.

"Guess which half is my favorite." Stubble adds with a rumbling chuckle.

"Who are you, exactly?" Hans voice snaps.

"Have I not yet introduced myself? Please pardon my manners sir; I am Prince Kasper of the North." Stubble, Kasper, announces his title and bows in an exaggerated sweeping motion.

"The North?" Hans questions. "There is no nation named as such."

"Only because we never thought to give our people a name, but I can assure you, the people of the North are just as hardy as you, and maybe more civilized."

"If you are anything to judge by I can only assume not." Hans says, letting his hand fall from my back and stepping toward the young prince in what can only be described as a display of dominance.

Kasper ignores Hans and looks to me. "I wouldn't like to miss the first royal wedding I am invited too, you know, networking and good impressions, so would it be to inconvenient for me to stay the full month here instead of trying to fit two impossible journeys in to so little time"

"Of course." I answer before Hans can reject the idea, having been given a feeling of rebelliousness with my back free of territorial hands.

"Also, I hope you don't have any policies against pets, because I have a rather large dog." Kasper adds, flashing me a quick smile and a wink in reference to the unconventional meeting I had with the dog, Olaf. It is only then do I notice the husky sitting behind his legs, watching the interaction as if he can understand the words we speak.

"Elsa." Hans says my name, and though it is innocent enough to the ears of others I know that it is a warning, telling me not to test him, not to go against him. I am being warned that my talking is over and that I will not be allowed to make any more decisions. "We do have a few extra rooms, but we wouldn't want to keep you from your family, or your people." Hans says, with a gracious smile that makes my skin crawl.

"My people will be fine, my mother and father rule their country very well, and I am far from first in line should something arise." Kasper explains, oblivious to the threats that lie in the corners of Hans's words.

"Well then, I hope you enjoy your time in Arendelle, our country has much to offer in the way of trade and leisure." Hans relents.

Our country, our country? How does Hans dare lay any claim to what I have worked my whole life for? I sacrificed my childhood trying to mold myself in to a monarch even close to what Arendelle deserves, and all Hans has done is threaten and torture. I spent countless hours before my quarantine perfecting my arithmetic, my literature, and my science knowledge; all hours I could have spent with Anna, or my parents, before I was sealed off from almost all human contact; but instead the were spent toiling away at a desk.

My hand clenches around the glass of red wine I am still sipping from and I see a rime web out from my fingertips. I should be fighting to stop it, desperate to keep the wine from forming a skin of burgundy ice, but I do not. I let the wine freeze through, I let the glass grow slick and I let a subtle chill ooze in to the air around me. Only when I feel an angry pressure on my back to I stop.

Hans has noticed, and he is not happy. My focus and control keep slipping and I cannot give Hans a reason to punish me, I cannot give him a reason to hurt my parents.

"Elsa, sweetie." Hans starts his voice sickly sweet and full of malice. "You don't look too well, maybe you should head to bed. I can manage the guests."

Nodding so fast my neck hurts I stumble out of the ballroom and in to the hallway. Kasper and Hans can continue their tense conversation without me. I need to be away from the constant rumble of so many people, I need to be away from the heat of so many people. Ice does not manage well with heat, and people give off so much of it.

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**So, whatcha think? Can I get a little feedback on Kasper, because as of now he crops up throughout the story a bit, and I would like to know if i did an ok job giving him character. So please read and review. **

**Also thank you too guest for your review. I can promise you a chapter a week. **

**-Whovian123**


	12. Chapter 12

**Hullo kind readers. This is not the longest chapter I have ever written, but it is not the shortest either. It is a little less exciting than the last few, lots has happened and poor little Elsa needs to digest it all. Though her situation can still get much worse.**

**I still need cover art. Please, if you have some, or would like to make a piece please let me know. You will be credited, and i promise to advertise the hell out of you.**

**Disclaimer:****I do not own frozen, all rights belong to the proper owners.**

**-Whovian123**

I make it back to my room, though it fails to put me at ease, for it no longer feels safe. It is tainted. Everywhere I stand it feels as though Hans is standing behind me, breathing against my neck, watching me. So I do not sleep, I make no attempt, it would be fruitless. I would have to add it to the list of times I have succumbed, times I have failed.

So I steel my resolve and wait. I tug my bedding away from its place on my bed and drag it to a corner where I can wrap myself tight and wait out the night. The soft fabric wards off nothing, I still feel exposed. I still see the betrayal on Anna's face, the hurt in her eyes. If I could tell her why I am doing this she might understand, but I cannot, Hans would kill my father if I let anyone know I was blackmailed in to our engagement. I cannot afford to risk that.

How am I going to manage breakfast? How can I sit across from Anna, knowing that she hates me, that she resents me and wishes me dead? For I am sure that is what she wishes of me. I almost wish that for myself, but of course I have to remember the payoff, that once I have committed to a marriage Hans will let my parents be free to a greater or lesser extent. He has too, he must.

A brief break appears in the cloud cover, causing pale moonlight to stream in through my open curtains and set ghost-like shadows dancing across my walls. My eyes cannot help but follow the willowy shapes as the glide across my floor, mirroring the moon in the sky.

The moon does not get enough credit; it shines every night doing its duty without complaint, content to let everyone sleep under its careful watch. Maybe that is why I feel safest on full moons, when the moon can protect me with all of its strength. When I can allow myself to rest and dream knowing that the moon will be there all night to see me through until morning.

So it does, the moon remains a constant presence throughout the night, though it may take brief respites behind the cover of cloud it remains vigilant, watching for trouble. With time the moon draws nearer and nearer the horizon, and with time the distant streaks of sunlight begin to filter past my curtains, but I feel almost angry at the sun for daring to rise.

With the sun will come the day, and with the day activity will begin. Baker's will begin making bread, market stalls will begin to open. Citizens well start their days, well rested after a chilling and uneventful night. Already I can hear birdsong tainting the silence. Sparrows fly through the air, convinced that they should pull away the quiet and replace it with the noise of a morning.

I know all too well that all of these things mean I have to go to breakfast. Maybe if I wait long enough the table will be cleared, everyone will head out, go about with their days, and Anna will decide to yell at me another time; but my stomach will be empty and my conscience heavy. I must give Anna the opportunity to yell, to scream and say what she must. I owe her that much.

My knees protests as I leave my nest of blankest behind and rise from the ground. I do not feel particularly brave or wise deciding to go to breakfast, but I know that it is what I must do. Even if I am sure whatever I force myself to eat will not be held down for every long.

Walking down the hallways proves to have little benefit for my aching muscles, and as I force the dining hall door open I feel tears prick in the corners of my eyes while my arms and legs scream in protest. I try not to look weak as I walk through the door. I do not know who to expect, the guests from last night are still running amuck in the castle and I do not want any of them to see me falter for even a moment, no matter how brief a moment it may be.

I prove to be too early to encounter the guests from last night, most of who drank deeply and will no doubt be sleeping all throughout the morning. Despite that shallow saving grace I still have to face Anna, who is up deceptively early, though I suspect that she may have forgone sleep. Just as I have.

I try to avoid looking at her, afraid that her gaze will be fixed on me, with hateful words hidden in her eyes, or not hidden at all. My foot hits a table leg, and my chair is loud and grating against the floor. Everything I am doing feels wrong. I should be on my knees pleading with Anna, trying to explain and beg for her forgiveness, but I cannot. I cannot jeopardize this. I cannot make this dangerous game any more treacherous, not when the price is our parents' lives.

With a quick side glance at Anna I can see that she is looking down at her food, focused on eating and nothing else. Kristoff is not with her, which worries me, should a fight arise there will be no mediator, we will fight and scream for who knows how long. Nothing happens though; we sit in silence, not looking up, staring in to our plates trying to figure each other out.

Anna's voice cracks through the quiet first, being as she is far braver than me. "Why?" Such a simple short question. Only one word, but I it encompasses so much. That is, if I am to answer honestly, which I cannot. So my answer is short.

"Why what?" I ask back, hoping a vain small hope that Anna will suddenly be ok with everything and just let it happen.

"WHY WHAT." Anna shouts, standing up with enough force to send her chair halfway across the room. "Why what! I don't know, maybe the fact that you are engaged to the man who tried to kill us." She is angry, that was to be expected, but this kind of angry makes me wish I could disappear, it makes me feel ashamed and makes my cheeks burn with guilt.

"Oh that." I try to keep my voice down, maybe if I act calm Anna will think that this is nothing and all rather unimportant. It proves a rather futile strategy.

"Oh that? Elsa, I don't understand. Why are you doing this? You can't trust him, whatever he has said is a lie. He isn't safe to be around." Anna's voice turns in to a broken begging, which is far worse than yelling and screaming. I need her to be angry again, I need her to have some fight in her voice, otherwise I will relent.

"Anna, I am your Queen and Hans will be your King, you are not allowed to speak this way too me, or to Hans." I say, a stately tone masking my desperate want to expose the truth.

"I will speak how I want about who I want." Anna declares, her fight re-ignited.

"No you will not, and that is an order." I almost flinch as I say the words, almost. My heart is heavy as I see Anna's face drop and a subtler angry look unfold across it.

"Is that where we are now? Giving orders to your sister?" Anna asks with a quiet plain voice. She sounds as if she truly wants an answer.

So I give her one.

"Yes." My one word sits in the air, taunting us both, reminding me that I cannot tell her the truth.

"Ok." Anna says, with a biting edge to the word. "I shall do as your majesty commands." She finishes her scathing retort with an aggressive curtsy.

Anna leaves after that, I sit in my chair and she leaves with angry footsteps which echo throughout the room. I hate myself, after years and years of separation, followed by a miraculous reconciliation, I drive our relationship to this. To a point where I am arguing with her and giving her orders?

I get up to leave, unable to contemplate food when I know that Anna is somewhere in the castle hating me and my guts. The dining hall still echoes with my footsteps, though this time I embrace to sound as opposed to covering in it up. Any noise is a noise I welcome, any noise serves as a distraction for what I have gotten myself in to.

Then I see it, with a step around a corner they fall in to my field of view. Hans advancing on a rather frightened looking Anna, an Anna who has unwittingly cornered herself against the wall and now has nowhere to go. "What is it Anna?" Han asks with mocking biting words. "Ashamed that I picked her instead of you?" He stops taunting. Now close enough to breathe on her neck her seems to notice her engagement ring. "So that oaf popped the question did he? Must be awful for him, because every time you see him you think of me, don't you?"

My feet become unstuck from the ground at the mocking of Anna's engagement ring. I want to knock Hans to the ground and bet him until he begs for death, and them forbid him the pleasure. I cannot though; I have to keep Hans healthy and happy if I wish for my parents to see the sun again. So walk with a brisk pace to where my sister is being harassed.

"Hans." My voice is strong, something which I am not right now. "Get away from Anna."

With my demand waiting in the air, Hans stops what he is doing; but does not back away. Anna is still pinned to the wall with his body far too close to hers. "I said 'away'." I demand for what I know will be a final time; for if I am ignored again I will not be able to hold myself back any longer. To my disappointment Hans wises up and backs away from Anna by several paces, just enough space to allow for her to slip under his arms and stumble in to the center of the hallway.

"You do not get to boss me around Elsa; I am to be your husband." Hans explains with the voice one would use when explaining something simple to a slow child.

"Exactly, you are to be my husband, but you are not my husband yet. So you will leave Anna be." I insist, only now realizing how dearly I may pay for this later.

Anna looks confused; confused and scared, but I cannot focus on that right now. Hans has turned around, walking toward me with steps that display menace. For a moment I worry that I am going to be paying for my actions right now, but Hans would not dare hit me with Anna watching, he would not dare reveal that our parents are alive.

He knows Anna would manage it too well, that she would think too fast, panic and reveal the capture of our parents. He knows that he would have to kill them to prevent their release, and with them dead he would kill Anna and I. With us dead he could say whatever he wanted, but if he manages to last long enough to marry me no one would dispute his claim to the throne. He would be king by every law Arendelle has.

So his steps stop in front of me, and with his hands clenched by his sides he speaks. "How rude of me, I beg your forgiveness."

I manage out a small nod, not because I have forgiven him, but because I know the price of not keeping up appearances. A quick glance to my side reveals that Anna has been watching our interaction with rapt attention. She does not say anything as she turns and walks away. I hope one day she can forgive me, but I know that I do not deserve it, that I will never deserve it.

Selfish as it may be I wish Anna had not walked away, because now it is just Hans and I alone in the hallway. He wastes no time crossing the feeble distance between us. One of his hands grasps at my waist and pushes me to the wall, the same place he had Anna pinned. His other arm comes up to bar his forearm against my throat.

"You little fool; someday someone is going to slit your throat, and I hope it gets to be me." Hans threatens in my ear.

I try to suck in air, I try to speak, but I cannot. My vision is blurry and I cannot feel my fingers. Then right as I am sure Hans is going to go too far and kill me the pressure of his arm is lessened and the castle air streams through my throat and in to my lungs, reminding me that I am alive and that I should fight to keep it that way.

"You're going to have an awful time trying to manage that." I state rather hoarsely at Hans. He needs to know that I will not relent so easily, that I will fight and make sure this is not easy for him.

"Are you forgetting my leverage?" Hans asks with smug self-satisfaction in his voice. I had. In my moment of self-empowerment I had forgotten the most important piece of the puzzle; the bigger picture. This is for my parents, so that they get to feel a proper breeze again before they die, so that they get to be at Anna's wedding, seeing as it now seems they will not be at my own.

My lack of response seems enough for Hans and he prances on down the hallway, his back too straight and his shoulders forced back. I fall against the wall and on to the floor. How did I get myself in this mess? How can I get out of it? There will be no easy way out; I am kidding myself if I think this will all fall together in the end. This will only end with pain and sorrow. It cannot though, I cannot let it. I have to make sure this works out. I have to make sure Anna has parents to hug on her wedding day.

**So? What did you think? I kind got on a weird tangent with the moon, but I liked it, so it stayed.**

**Please drop a review, and let me know what you think. **

**Thank you to those of you that have reviewed. **

**Inky ivory****: Thank you so much, you are awesome.**

**frozen lover****: Don't worry about being late, and thank you for the compliment. Also, that's a lot of stories, let's take it one at a time.**

**Prnamber3909****: Woah, love interest, they just met. Honestly with the state Elsa is going to be in I don't think love interests will work out for her. **

**-Whovian123**


	13. Chapter 13

**Good day kind reader. Good god this chapter was a bitch, I had a plan for it, but Elsa demanded to do something different, I relented in the end. Do not fear sweet reader, for nothing major has changed, we have only made a slight detour. **

**Hope you enjoy and review. **

**Also I am still looking for cover art, you will get credit, also you should probably have a deviantart page and a fanfiction account because that makes picture exchange and discussion so much easier. **

**Disclaimer:****I do not own the rights to frozen, all rights belong to the proper owners. **

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My door thunders with angry knocks. It could be Hans, but Hans is far more subtle and controlled in his anger, this is a raw rage about to boil over. Then I hear the shouting and I know who it is. "Elsa, I know you are in there and I will break down the door." It is Kristoff, and he is furious.

I open the door against my better judgment and he stampedes in to my room, his massive bulk making the ground quiver with each footstep. "What were you thinking, letting Hans parade around the castle, getting _engaged _to him? Anna was harassed by him, he pinned her to a wall in the hallway and verbally attacked her." Kristoff voice is rising in volume and I doubt I will be able to talk my way out of this, but then Kristoff stops. His voice falls to broken whisper. "He tried to kill her. Before, back in the summer, he tried to kill her and he almost got away with it."

My hands are shaking. I want to explain, I want Kristoff to know that I am not trying to put Anna in danger, and that I was ready to kill Hans for what he was doing to Anna in that hallway. I cannot though. Whipping up some useless excuse is my only choice. "Hans did no such thing, Anna is overreacting. It was a small encounter which I put a stop to before anything happened." The lies burn against my tongue.

"That shouldn't be a problem though; you should never have to protect her in her own home. She should be safe." Kristoff tries to explain. I understand of course, but to show that I do would lead to demanding questions, questions with unspeakable answers. My voice will not work as I try to throw together an explanation. Though I am grateful for my tight throat and sealed lips, for without them I am sure the truth would come spilling out.

"Kristoff, this is highly inappropriate. I am your Queen and you are not to speak to me this way." I am forced to pull rank, I do not like doing it, but it must be done to give Kristoff pause before he loses his last bit of control and becomes a loose cannon.

I see the shift in his eyes right away, though it is not the blinding rage I feared, but rather a sadness and worry. His shoulders relax and his face falls, it looks as if he has uncoiled, like his muscles cannot be made to hold him together anymore. "I am sorry your majesty. I just worry about her so much. Anna means everything to me, and Hans has a record of dishonesty."

The poor mountain man looks so crestfallen that I try to turn the topic of conversation is a much lighter direction. "Anna must be excited about wedding preparations." I grasp at the first thought that comes to my mind.

"She is, though we still need to work out a date, and regardless, your wedding is much closer than ours will be." Kristoff says with a gentle chuckle rumbling in his voice, his features having returned to a somewhat normal state. "Hans may have a sketchy past, but it is still your wedding, and a royal wedding no less."

My blood runs cold, or what I imagine cold would feel like. I have to plan my wedding. I have to plan the day I truly forfeit my freedom. Or maybe I wont. Hans is far too controlling to let me have a say in anything, not that I want to have a say. Hans will not chance anything going wrong. If I let my wedding happen as he wants it maybe he will be merciful, maybe I will get to see my father and mother.

"Yes, lots of planning." I force myself to keep a level voice. "I should get back to that."

Kristoff nods then bows. "I hope you forgive me for my… outburst, I was not thinking properly and jumping to unfair conclusions." With that he hurries from my room, no doubt eager to find Anna and talk wedding plans.

With Kristoff gone my room seems much larger, far too large for me to sit in it alone. I spring forward and out through my doorway, unable to contemplate spending another second feeling so small in a place that used to be safe. Nothing feels safe anymore.

I scurry through the barren hallways, feeling like a fugitive on the run, though I am not sure from what I run. My hands tremble as I try to summon strength I do not have. I am weak, I need to be stronger, but I am not.

Maybe I can manage it, maybe I can save them. I do not know where Hans is staying, but I doubt he is anywhere but the castle. Dutifully ignoring all of its rich history and architecture and focusing on where his portrait will hang the nicest. If Hans is wandering the same halls as me that must mean my parents are under the guard of lackeys. I can stealthy, I could save them. It wouldn't be too hard, a few simple soldiers are no match for ice.

My hands start to tremble and I can see snowflakes pass by my eyes. I can free my parents and call off the engagement from hell; I stand a chance at a life with parents and a future without an oppressive husband.

I bolt from the halls and sprint in the direction of the main gates.

I can make this work. It will not be hard to disarm a few guards, my control over my powers may not be absolute but I can channel it well enough to pull this off. Then I can take my parents back home, they can feel the sun again. Anna can see them and know that they are alive and well. Our family will be whole again, everything can work out perfectly.

No guards question me as I leave the castle; one man sends me a slight questioning glance, a new guard called Alec, but aside from that I make it out in to the town without incident. The docks are close enough that few people notice me, and even fewer stop me and try to talk. When they do stop me I am as civil as possible and try to hide my giddy excitement at the prospect of a proper full family.

Everyone is busy and has places to be, which means conversations are brief. I nod at several fishermen hauling in the afternoons catch and distributing it to vendors so villagers can buy their dinners. Hans's ship has, to my delight, docked.

My arms thank the fact that I will not have to steal a rowboat and row out to the ship. Replacing the barrier of water is a set of two guards. They look average enough, no special weapons, only the standard steely stares and swords. Though I can be sure Hans has hidden many more guards within the bowls of the ship.

Thanking the winter for its early sunsets, which cast marvelous concealing shadows, I place my hands together and rub them as one would when trying to create friction and warm their frozen fingers. Instead of heat frost becomes present, seeping across my fingertips and grasping at the air around it. Pulling apart my hands reveals a snowball so perfect and smooth that an undetectable flick of my wrist sends it past the guards at the boats entrance and smashing against a stack of boxes.

The boxes prove to be stacked far more precariously than can be deemed safe and they all crash to the ground with an awful smashing and shattering. Both guards whip around with their swords drawn, determined to protect their precious cargo and avoid Hans's wrath. The wary men advance on the boxes and I exploit the opportunity to run aboard the ship without them seeing. If I can make it in to the hallways of the ship I can avoid hurting them, and as questionable as some of their choices may be, I do not want to hurt anyone more than strictly necessary.

Thankfully the guards do no look back as they replace the stack of boxes with one even more precarious. I manage to get past the door which is mercifully oiled and well cared for and make my way through the jumble of hallways. Sticking to the shadows I sneak my way to the door which I remember as the one that hides my parents, my shot at a real family.

Four men guard the doorway to my mother and father, which seems a little lax considering they are guarding Hans's one and only bargaining chip. I decide to count myself lucky and take it for what it is, the perfect rescue.

I know that the moment I turn around the corner and reveal myself I will have seconds only to act and disarm the men before I am detained. My fingers twitch, itching to exact some revenge for this hellish week and a half. I manage to retain just enough of myself to stay tucked away behind a corner and out of sight.

My hands come together again, like earlier with the guards and the boxes, but this time four snowballs are revealed and they all race towards the heads of the guards. Two guards are clipped in the head and knocked unconscious with only a small gash on their heads. The other men move at the last moment, shifting centimeters out of the snowballs paths and sending then instead smashing against the wall in splaying circles of snow.

I duck back behind the corner of the hallway knowing that I have to act fast or risk my plan falling apart. The shadows of the two men advance on me, cast against the wall behind me by a lantern one of them has grabbed and is swinging around violently. I clench my hand and stick my arm around the corner, releasing the energy in my arm and sending a gust of cold air toward the lantern; the chill finds its way to the flame and cloaks the hall in darkness.

The guards both cry out in anger and throw the useless lantern against the wall. The lamp sails through the air and shatters against the wooden planks opposite me. Fuel slides down wall, jittering with the heavy footsteps the guards make as they stamped down the hallway. The run with steps that are determined to keep me from bashing the door to no more than splinters, determined to prevent me from reaching my parents.

When the blundering fools round the corner I let loose a barrage of winter weather. The guards are battered and beaten by hail and whipping winds. I let hard packed snow stream from my fingers and it collides with the men's heads with a crack that makes me feel guilty, far guiltier than I can let myself feel if this plan is to work.

Stepping over the men gives me a giddy freeing sense. I did it, they are both unconscious and I am free to rescue my parents. The door is locked, but it takes little time to locate the single key attached to one of the guards' belts. Getting the key in the lock proves to be a challenge for my shaking hands, I manage through. With my parents this close to freedom I could manage anything.

Their faces are frightened when I open the door, they did not expect me and must have thought that the commotion going on outside would only end in pain for them. I close the door behind me and then start to work on the gags and bindings. Their feet are shackled to the wall and their hands are bound with cloth. I can hear muffled shouts from behind the gags tied much tighter around their mouths than last I saw them.

I work as if I am a puppet, my arms and fingers flying through knots that I would be unable to overcome in any other situation. My father's hands fall limp into his lap, sore and unaccustomed to such free mobility. Sliding across the room to my mother's crouched form I realize that I have no way of breaking the shackles. The men outside may have additional keys tucked away, but even if I could find them I would surely run out of time. The guards above must have noticed a slight disturbance from the deck below them and will investigate eventually. If only I had more time.

The knot keeping my mother's hands together unravels beneath my quick fingers. She pulls at her gag, sliding it over her chin and leaving it around her neck like a bulky necklace. "Elsa, sweetie, how?" My mum's voice is such a comforting sound to fall upon my ears. The trembling in my fingers is soothed as I realize that I can, well and proper, get away with this.

"It's not important." I rush through my words, desperate to get my mum and dad off the boat and somewhere safe so I can deal with Hans and end this. "Do you know where they keep the keys for these?" I hold up the shackles, searching for a weak spot but finding none.

My father answers from behind me, having since retained comfortable use of his hands and removed his gag. "Prince Hans has it." My shoulders stiffen at the mention of Hans. I will win this, not him, if I have to pry the key from his frozen hands then so be it.

"Is it true what he has told us?" My father asks, a protective edge creeping up into his voice. "Is he really making you marry him?"

My throat is dry as I try to answer, as I try to tell my father, the great and rightful King of Arendelle, that I am surrendering his kingdom to a snake of a prince.

I settle on a slight nod.

My father's face takes on a solemn look and he turns his gaze to the ground. I want to tell him that I am sorry, that I am trying to find a way out of this, but as long as Hans has them stuck down here I will have to agree with whatever is demanded of me, which is why I need to break these shackles.

Flashes of my first battle against Hans break through my thoughts and remind me that ice is a rather persuasive force. I warn my parents with a soft mumble, and then wrap my hand around one of the chains binding my father to the ship. My chest feels like It is going to explode as I try to direct the swirling mess of power attempting to force its way out of me in to only my palm. Throbbing veins of electric blue frost creep along the metal, cracking and creaking sounds cling in the air and then it shatters. I close my fist on the crumbling iron, willing my powers to stop.

I make short work of the last shackle that binds my father to the ship and then start freeing my mother when I hear it. "Oh Elsa, you really are stupid." How? How and why? No one had seen me get on the ship. No guards had been able to report me, they had been knocked thoroughly unconscious. I had made sure this was fool-proof. So why was my venomous fiancé towering above me with his sword drawn.

* * *

**Soooooo? **

**I know Elsa already kinda broke on to the boat once, but this time was different, before was a tactless moment of desperation, this is far more thought out and less primal. Also Elsa is focused on getting her mum and dad off the boat, not just paying them a visit. We'll see how it works out. Also I know kristoff drops the subject rather abruptly, but he's Kristoff, and he might do that. **

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter and that you drop a review letting me know what i screwed up and what is ok. **

**Thank you to those of you whom have reviewed.**

**jade254: A whole paragraph! Thank you so much! You are the best. Also yes Anna does have a right to know, but Elsa is set on digging herself in to a hole, so it may be a while longer before Anna finds out, and it might be too late to fix anything... Sorry I forgot to mention why Elsa cant just off Hans and rally the guards, ill expand upon it with the next chapter, but you're pretty much exactly right.  
**

**frozen lover:**** Thank you so much for your support, I love reading your reviews. Your offer is appreciated, but unless you have an account with which to PM me and a ****deviantart page, it will be next to impossible. **


	14. Chapter 14

**Hullo, How are you? Good? Awesome. I've got another chapter for you here. Its gets a little creepy, Just to let you know.**

**I should have the next chapter up on Friday. **

**I am still in need of cover art. It doesn't have to be a specific thing from this story, just a nice picture of Elsa. PM mm please. You will be credited.**

**One last thing. HAPPY MAY THE 4TH. IT'S STARWARS DAY!  
**

**-Whovian123**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own frozen, all rights belong to the proper owners. **

* * *

My father launches himself at Hans, narrowly avoiding his flailing sword and sending both, himself and Hans, to the floor. I finish with my mother's last shackle and clamor to my feet alongside her. Hans is throwing his fists at my dad, his knuckles bouncing against my father's head with cracking sounds that worry me. I make for the sword Hans dropped, but a boot clamps down on it before I can defend myself.

I should have known; it is as predictable as the stories the old bards tell. The new guard, Alec, is staring down at me, his foot keeping my fingers from the hilt of the sword. No, no, no. How had he made it in to my guard, how was he allowed to protect me and Anna when he clearly had so little problem foiling my plans and aiding Hans. Of course, Alec is new, he had never really been my guard. Hans must have sent him in as a spy, how does Hans have spies?

Thinking with an erratic burst of hope I throw myself from my coiled position on the ground and up towards Alec's sneer. It is rather clear that he expected me to rollover and give up because his smirk falls off his face only to be replaced with wide eyes and a slight frown. I have never liked to give up.

Alec and I fall to the ground, each of us struggling for the upper hand. I kick and punch, desperate to ensure my parents freedom. I will not lose. I cannot lose, too lose now is to irrevocably destroy any chance of Hans playing nice. If the way he has played up to now can be called nice.

Then a feel the sting of steel against me neck. Alec and Hans were not foolish enough to come alone. I briefly consider struggling, but as the pressure of the sword tip gets more and more present on the skin of my neck, I re-think my choice. A behemoth of a guard stands above me, his sword at my neck and his other hand reaching down to pluck Alec from the grubby ground.

"Royal brat." Alec spits at me with a low rumbling voice. He wipes his face, smearing the trickle of blood that is seeping from his nose. I must have landed at least one worthwhile blow.

Using the opportunity of quietness I take inventory of my rescue attempt. My father is sporting a large gash on his check, and is holding his arm in such a way that can only be to avoid aggravating whatever injury he has sustained. Han, to my delight, is favoring his right foot far more than his left. The bulking lackey still has his sword to my throat and is backed by several other guards whom are obviously responsible for breaking up the scuffle between my father and Hans.

With caution I back away from Hans and his armada. My hands are trembling and I have to keep myself from blasting the ship apart, I may be immune to cold and ice, but my parents are not. With a flick of my wrist Hans and everyone that does his bidding could be resting on the fjord floor. It is such a tempting idea, an end to this awful ordeal, but I know my powers would get the better of me and I would return home with no family left but Anna.

I have to protect my parents though. So as my body starts to leak frost and an undeniable rage wells at the very center of my chest I move to position myself in front of my mother and father in a weak attempt to keep Hans from striking them. My mother reaches out with her hand and lets her fingers dance against my shoulder, only just touching with a reassuring pressure that reminds me she is there. Those fleeting touches keep me from exploding, though I still feel like a rabid dog that needs to be put down.

"Elsa." Hans begins; a flicker of worry crosses his face so fast I cannot be sure I saw it. "Remember, if we go down, mummy and daddy do too." He speaks as if I do not already know.

"How does this end then?" MY father shouts from behind me. "My daughter marries you and my wife and I spend the rest of our lives crammed in this cell?" I am afraid. The look that invades Hans's features is no longer worry, but a kind of subtle rage which seems a precursor to unforgivable things. As if Hans was forgivable before.

"That's exactly how it ends." Hans snarls at my father taking a halting step forward as means of intimidation.

With all that is going on I notice the sword has been dropped from my neck and is resting by the enormous guards' side. I can use this, they think I going to give up. They think I have already written this rescue attempt off as a failure. I really do not like giving up.

I take a quick breath and launch myself at Hans. My chest burns with quick jolts of pain. I am over flowing with power; ice is leaching out of crevices on the walls, and a swirling storm of hail bombards Hans. My shaky hands have a blissful moment of stability and wrap themselves around Hans's throat. His vile green eyes are a picture of surprise and shock; he did not expect me to be so brash. I did not think I could be so brash.

My hands wrap tighter around Hans's throat, he is warm and revolting, wriggling about underneath me, tying in vain to take in air. I am reminded of earlier today.

Right as I see Hans's eyes start to fade I feel a shard pain on the back of my skull. Everything goes black.

* * *

I cannot think, not properly, everything is clouded and swimming together. My eyes fight to open and when they succeed they wish they had not, for the dim light of where I am sends them ducking for cover in an effort to avoid the sting of usage. It is my arms that struggle for movement next, and it is my arms that first realize I have been bound, by rope, to a crude chair.

Why I am I tied to a chair? Oh no, oh no, where are my parents. Willing to withstand the sting of light I force my eyes open and survey the room around me. The floor rocks with a motion to gentle and rhythmic to be caused simply my swimming head. I am still on the boat.

I want to scream, I want to thrash about and fight my way to where ever my parents are. Then I thought strikes me, are they still alive, could I have angered Hans enough for him to kill my parents. My wrists burn as I try to work my hands free. Realizing that the rope is far too strong for me to break I inhale once to steady myself, and exhale once to let the familiar tingle enter my fingertips. Rope proves to be rather easy to freeze, but a bit harder to shatter.

"Oh, and what do you think you are doing?" An all too familiar voice asks me from the shadowed corner of my cell with an all too familiar tone.

"Hans, where are they?" I ask, not bothering to keep the desperation out of my voice.

"Whoever could you mean?" He is playing with me now, mocking me with his casual stroll and his twiddling thumbs, through the fact that his casual stroll is punctuated by a minor limp makes me rather proud of my father.

"You know who I mean." My voice is a ragged yell. I need to know if they are safe and I do not pay any mind to what the consequences of my actions may be.

"Hush now sweetie." Hans coos. "You don't want to get yourself worked up, remember if you go up the boat goes down, which means your parents will become features of the seafloor.

"Give me one reason why I shouldn't kill you now."

"Alec."

"Alec what?"

"Young Alec represents the network of spies that have infiltrated your guard." Hans's voice gets progressively more excited as he speaks, and his eyes take on a sheen of joy. He is dangerous, more so than I realized. "If any of my men see me go down then they have the authority to slit your father's throat and do the same to your mother."

"Please." I beg with a broken voice. "I have done everything you asked me to do. Please, stop"

"NO." Hans loses his demeanour for second and quicker than my slow tired eyes can see he sends the back of his hand against my cheek. My eyes water and my skin smarts as Hans continues with a renewed sense of vigor. "And, you should know, I have a special set of killers stationed around your little sister."

"No, no, please, not Anna. Have anything, take anything, and just let her be. She is too young, she means no harm. Please." The words are breaking free from my tongue without permission, I do not care though. Hans cannot hurt Anna. Anna is my sister and I would take a thousand knifes to the chest if it meant she got to live another minute.

Hans chuckles. "As if your pathetic pleading could get me to stop. I do what I want Elsa, you get the privilege of following me."

He has walked around me and is standing directly behind me, his head leaning forward to speak his threats in to my ear. I do not say anything; I look ahead and try to ignore him. Then I feel it. His hand is on my shoulder. The same spot that my mother placed a comforting hand, only this hand is not comforting. His hand rubs circles around my shoulder with too much pressure. His fingers hook under my dress and begin tracing small spirals across my skin. I shift my weight, trying to shake him off, but the moment I move I feel a knife against my skin. It cannot be bigger than a dagger, nothing else would fit in the narrow space between us.

"Please stop." I know the words will fall on deaf ears, but if I do not say them I will not be able to live with myself.

"Elsa, why would I? We are engaged after all, your body is mine to do with as I please." I have to fight the urge to be sick; if I am sick I will only get in trouble. "Then again, I have heard that a virgin on her wedding night is better than a thousand whores."

I feel his fingers recede and my dress falls back in to place against my shoulder. The coil of tension sitting in the center of my chest dissipates, though the blade still rests against the small of my back. I may have been spared utter humiliation today, but I can be sure that things will not go well for me.

"I think I will let you go. Tonight you can rest in your little bed, get some much-needed beauty rest, and then tomorrow you will be fitted for you wedding dress. I have already sent the design to your seamstress, do not make any alterations, just sit there and let them do their work." Hans explains in a deathly whisper.

I nod.

"Good, now." Hans flicks his wrists and cuts through my bindings with the dagger. "Leave this place, do not think of trying another rescue attempt, I have eyes everywhere. Go straight back to the castle. Do not have dinner, you do not need it and you do not need the questions people will ask you, go to your room and do not leave until tomorrow."

I do not turn to face Hans; I do not open my mouth with a reply. I simply wait.

"Am I understood?" Hans asks with the pressure of a knife against my back returning.

"Yes."

"Good, now get out."

I scramble up to my feet, knocking over the chair in my haste. Without looking back I charge toward the door, needing to be anywhere but here. Sprinting through the corridors I see at least a hundred men lining the walls. They all watch me as I pass them, their faces daring me to try anything stupid. I do not try anything.

Once I reach the deck is it but a quick sprint to the dock and then another sprint the land.

Night has fallen; some patches of moon light manage to break past the blanket of clouds. The patches make me feel safe, or as safe as one as feel after my night.

I walk in to the castle with as much authority as I can muster; no one asks me where I have been or what I have done. Alec gives me a small sneer which sends me on my way a bit faster. The halls are empty and I make my way to my room praying that I do not meet any stragglers. Guests from my party may still be staying in the castle and I cannot bear the thought of a conversation with one of them now.

The door to my room looms in the distance, and my shoes connect with the ground in a series of clacking sounds. As I walk in to my room and close the door behind me I realize how tired I am. It has been far to long since I last slept. It feels like letting Hans win if I sleep for even a wink, but I cannot bear the thought of keeping my eyes open any longer. I haul my bedding away from the nest I had made in a corner and spread it back in to place. My body gives out and I collapse on top of every sheet and blanket I have just meticulously placed, clinging to the shallow hope that tomorrow can be a better day.

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**Please let me know what you thought with a review, long or short it does not matter. **

**-Whovian123**

**Thank you to everyone that has favorited, followed, and just plain ol' read this story. **

**AshleyTenant: Thank you so much for your review, and thank you so much for the complements. Yeah, Hans is kinda a massive douche, but it only gets worse.**


	15. Chapter 15

**Hullo, How are you? I've got a nice new chapter right here for you. **

**I hope you like it. **

**Please, if you have any cover art, or would like to make some, PM me. You will be credited.**

**-Whovian123**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Frozen, all rights belong to the proper owners. **

* * *

"Sorry your majesty." My seamstress apologizes as she pricks me with a needle while trying to get a swatch of creamy fabric pinned in place. Her glasses hanging on to the tip of her nose, and her lips pressed tight together in concentration.

I nod and tell her it is fine. Truth be told, I did not feel a thing. In fact, I am numb, utterly numb from the events of yesterday. Getting up was no big challenge, getting dressed was just as easy. Avoiding the wandering guards and guests of my castle proved to be a little less easy. Forcing myself to attend this fitting was all but impossible.

My seamstress had attempted small talk for the first hour and a half, but gave up when I showed no enthusiasm. She is so excited for me, gossiping on and on about wedding cakes and how lovely my gown will be. I tried to answer with interest and delight, but I cannot manage more than a thin smile. My wedding should bring a bashful smile to my face and a modest blush; instead the best I can manage is a mask of indifference, which hides the fear I seem to be feeling a lot as of late.

My shoulders are bare; I wish this blasted dress had sleeves. The brief glances I catch of myself in the mirrors hanging around the room leave me little hope for a dress I can tolerate. With what I know of Hans this does not come as a surprise. I tug with nervous energy at the gloves I have been permitted to wear for the wedding in spite of their conservative nature, at least Hans is weary of me enough to protect himself by giving me gloves.

I wonder what my wedding will be like, what flowers will be there. Will the cake be chocolate or vanilla, I would much favor chocolate, but I know Hans will not have taken in to account any of my preferences. How many people will wish me congratulations and give me their blessing for my new life with a monster? Will Anna attend? Even though I know she must hate me I cannot help but pray on the shallow hope that she looks past Hans and finds a way to forgive me.

Will my father be released to walk me down the aisle? I used to think this was a possibility, Hans letting my parents out for special occasions, or maybe freeing them altogether, but with the words of last night echoing in my ears I doubt my father will be able to attend my wedding. I almost shudder at the thought of walking down the aisle alone, stumbling toward my hellish future and my tyrannical husband.

My king.

A queen is second to only her husband, her king. Hans will be my king. Not only will I have to obey him to keep my parents in one piece, but to keep my citizens unsuspecting and calm. His word will be law and I will have to watch in silent horror as he takes over my country, disturbing our trade to fit his needs, and ruining all of our political relations. My country will be in shambles before the snow melts.

My breath wavers as I contemplate the repercussions of this wedding. My freedom, something I had to sacrifice throughout my childhood, will be taken from me. I will be expected to sit quietly, passively, and let the world happen around me; a world which I had to fight so hard to be a part of.

"Pardon me your majesty." The seamstress begins. "It's kind of cold." I can only assume she has made a polite understatement, because when I refocus of the world around me I notice a fine layer of frost on the mirrors around me and fine flakes of snow suspended in mid-air around the room.

"Sorry. I didn't realize." I stammer, ashamed that I have lost control. With a whip of my hand I force the snow and ice to dissipate. "I am so sorry."

"Oh don't worry dear. I'm sure it's just wedding jitters." She waves her hand, dismissing my apology. "Your mother was the same why when I was making her dress, though a tad less snowy."

My breath catches in my throat. I cannot think about my mother, not now. "I forgot you made her wedding dress." I want to flinch at how forced my voice sounds, but thankfully she is far too distracted by the memories of my mother's wedding.

"She was so pretty, a beautiful blushing bride. You look just like her, an absolute vision. Her wedding was perfect. Your father was so excited. They really loved each other." Her eyes cloud with tears that threaten to spill out and on to her face. "Your mother would visit me sometimes; she would talk about you and your sister for ages. She would have loved to see you in a wedding dress, so would your father. It's a shame they won't be there."

I nod, unable to do more than move my neck muscles; every other part of me is frozen. My arms are stuck to my sides, my feet feel weighted to the ground, and my fingers won't unclench from the fists I had unwittingly made.

"Well, I'm done. How do you like it?" The seamstress asks while stepping back to take in all of her work.

"It's amazing." I feel the words sting in my mouth; they are a necessary lie to keep my cover. Her work is masterful, but the design commissioned by Hans leaves me longing for an overcoat.

"Well, let's get you out of it then. Sooner I can send you back to spend time with your fiancé the better." She helps me out of the dress, careful to keep the pins from shifting and ruining the mornings work.

I step back in to my casual attire, making sure my mothers necklace is sitting properly against my chest. As of late it has become my habit to wear it and treat it like an anchor to my sanity. I bid the seamstress a good day and thank her for all of her hard work, remarking upon how much Hans will appreciate it. She tells me it was a pleasure to spend the morning with me.

Once in the hallways I stare straight ahead as I walk, ignoring the slapping of my shoes against the ground. I focus on finding somewhere where no one will see me, because I need to scream, I need to let go of the pressure building in my chest. The knowledge that my mother will not be at my wedding is too much. The fact that I will not be able to look out at all the people watching me and see my mum, her face soft and proud as she wipes away tears of joy.

Air, I need air. My lungs feel like they are on fire, and my head is spinning so fiercely that I fear I may be sick. All I need is air. Air will make the crushing weight on my chest slide away. A few gulps of crisp winter air will make me forget about what my seamstress said. If I can forget that then I can forget that my mother will not be at my wedding. I can forget that my father will be sitting in a cage, squinting in to dim light, instead of walking me down the aisle like he should be.

I feel the ground under my shoes shift from smooth shiny tile to an uneven kind of gravel. Casting a wayward glance around me reveals that it is snowing. It is not my panic-stricken snow, it is a natural snow that eases my shoulders and under any other circumstances would have me smiling from ear to ear.

Allowing myself a moment to forget about the world and my problems I shout. I swing my head to the sky and shout out a meaningless sound. The shout rips from my throat and out in to the world, then it is gone. In an instance my voice is nothing but an echo of an echo, not even part of the physical world anymore, nothing but a memory.

Is that what my life is now, nothing but a memory? Everything I love and everything I believe, is being ripped from me. When will I be left with nothing? When will I be a shell of a person, nothing but memories?

"Are you going to stop shouting or should I move?"

The sudden question shocks me. I thought I was alone.

Turning a quick circle I locate the speaker. Kasper is leaning against a thick oak tree, his arms crossed over his body in a casual way. His face is turned toward me, but his body is facing outward, pointing toward the mountains.

"Sorry, I didn't know anyone was around." I stammer, ashamed that someone had to see that.

"Doesn't answer my question." Kasper persists.

"I'll stop."

"Good."

We stare at each other in silence, a silence which is all too quickly becoming an awkward one. Kasper shifts his weight and then turns his body to face me. "Are you ok?"

"What?" I demand, taken aback by this gentleman's straightforwardness.

"I've seen you twice and both times started off with you screaming and panicking." He states, concern tinting his voice.

"I am fine." I say, falling so easily in to the mask that became who I was for most of my childhood. The lying comes so flawlessly, having been ingrained in me the moment I could feel ashamed of my faults.

To say Kasper looks sceptical would be a rather extreme understatement. Regardless, he shrugs, deciding not to press the issue.

"Why are you out here?" I ask, curious as to why he ever seems to be inside.

"I like it better than indoors, and so does Olaf." Kasper smiles tilting his head toward his dog; who is rolling around in a patch of snow several feet away.

"I know a snowman called Olaf." I offer the information as means of catalyzing a conversation.

"I was going to ask about him. He seems to have taken a liking to me; he finds me in the hallways and talks with me."

"He's sweet." I muse, much more at ease with Kasper now that I know Olaf has taken a liking to him. For all his naïvety Olaf is a wonderful judge of character.

The silence which follows is far more companionable than the first.

I take several unsure steps towards him and fall in to place by his side, looking out toward the mountains. "I wonder what it's like out there." Kasper says his voice soft, as if in a dream.

"It's amazing." I begin before I can stop myself. "The snow is a blanket of perfection. At night the sky swirls above you, with a thousand colors stretched across as far has your eye can see, peppered with stars that shine brighter than you can believe. The silence is flawlessly soft and if you listen you can hear the snowflakes as they zigzag toward the ground."

"It sounds like home." Kasper states his voice wistful. "I miss home."

"What do you miss most?" I ask, curious about places outside of Arendelle.

"Sparing with my siblings." He responds so fast I know he had thought about it before I asked the question.

"Siblings?"

"Two older brothers and a younger sister." Kasper explains while running his hand through his hair. "My oldest brother spends most of his time studying and prepping for when he becomes king, but the other two, my sister more so than my brother, enjoyed spending time with me outside."

"Who usually wins?" I ask, feeling brave enough to offer a cheeky smile.

"My sister, I have rather bad swordsmanship." Kasper chuckles, it is a deep rumbling sound from the pits of his chest.

"I'm sure it's not too bad." I offer with a kind smirk.

"We'll have to spar sometime; you can watch me fall over my sword."

Our conversation is cut short by Olaf forgetting about rolling around in the snow and discovering that I am an awesome thing to jump on. Kasper tries to apologize and pull him from me, but I insist that I love dogs. In all honesty I feel flattered that Olaf is so enthusiastic about me, most animals get scared and skittish around me, as if they know I am a time bomb.

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**It's short, I know it's short. I'll update Thursday and that will be longer. **

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter, drop a review and let me know what you think. **

**Thank you to everyone who reviewed last chapter. **

**jade254: Hans is awful isnt he. And yes, Elsa most certainly is going to put up the best fight she can, though i dont know if its going to be enough. **

**AFangirlofShorts: Thank you very much, and i think this chapter may have served as an answer to your question. **

**Guest: I am afraid Hans might. **


	16. Chapter 16

**Hullo. So, this is my longest chapter yet. I feel I should warn you that there is a small amount of cussing in this chapter, nothing major, jut a few insults. **

**I hope you enjoy it. **

**-Whovian123**

**Disclaimer:**** I do not own Frozen, all rights belong to the proper owners.**

* * *

It is raining, it's a stormy rain that pounds against the roof tops and the walls, battering against the windows and filling the silence with a frantic and persistent drumming. I need to get to dinner, I am expected at dinner. With my wedding approaching at a pace that scares me I am expected to take dinner with the guests that have arrived, and the one that never left.

My ears welcome the distraction of rain as I make my way out of my room and toward the dining hall. Yesterday I was late to dinner, Hans was not impressed. My steps are careful and calculated as not to aggravate any of my injuries. A small limp is fine to bear in an empty hallway, but in front of guests I will have to play the part of an excited bride and cover any missteps with a false smile.

The halls are empty, which worries me. Has everyone already made their way to dinner? Will I be forced to walk in late, be berated by Hans, and stared at by guests? My lodgers have proven all to giddy with my wedding fast approaching. Whenever I find myself in their company I am assaulted with questions of my dress, and advice on cake frosting. Everyone always wishes me well with my new life and new husband. When they tell me how lucky I am I have to clench my fists and hope the unsuspecting well-wisher is not susceptible to the cold.

"Elsa?"

Anna's voice takes me from the thoughts and drops me back in the real world.

"Shouldn't you be a dinner?" I ask, while surveying her appearance. Her eyes have prominent dark circles hanging under them; they lay in stark contrast with her pale skin. It is rather clear that she has not been sleeping well.

"I could say the same to you." Anna announces. "Won't Hans get angry if you show up late?" Her voice takes on a curious tone, one which is mingled with both concern and anger, as though she does not know how to feel about me, or my fiancée.

"Please come to dinner Anna. Kristoff comes every night." I plead with the young princess, my sister, who hates my guts so fiercely. Her Fiancée is forced to tell a weak lie every night when she fails to show up for the evening meal.

"Are you still getting married to Hans?" Anna questions with malice.

"Yes."

"Then I won't be at dinner."

"Anna, please be reasonable. We are both adults, we can solve this like adults. Don't take us back to where we were last summer." I can't help but feel empty when Anna is so angry at me. I didn't ask for this marriage. I am fighting for our parents' lives, and Anna has the audacity to be angry at me. I understand, of course, that Anna has no idea of what is happening behind the scenes of my engagement, the threats, and the punches.

"You be reasonable. I am doing what any sane person would do. He tried to _Kill _us, so why the hell are you going to dinner to talk about your engagement to him." Anna persists, her voice rising. "I can guarantee that I will not be at anymore meals and that I will not be at that sham of a wedding."

Dismayed I struggle for ground to stand on. I need an argument against this, because Anna is right, of course she is right. Hans is awful, Hans is vile, and Hans has our parents and cannot be trusted with their lives. "Anna, please, you don't understand." I turn to begging, unable to manage anything else.

"No." Anna declares. "I don't, so could you please explain it to me?" I have heard many a man say ignorance is bliss, Anna is ignorant of the shady dealings behind my engagement, she is ignorant to the dark shades a man can take when he wants something, but she is not living in bliss.

"You have to understand that I would never do anything to hurt you. All I want is to protect you." I try to explain with a shallow watery voice and knees that threaten to give out.

Anna is furious; her stance is intimidating and ready to attack. Her eyes burn in to me, telling me of the hate she feels. "Don't you dare pull that shit with me! Don't you dare pretend that this is all for me. You are being a sick selfish idiot and I will not excuse it." Anna is shouting by the last words. It sounds as if her lungs are being pushed to the absolute limit. I can spot tears trickling down her face; I feel my own slide down my cheeks. "Don't talk to me, because I cannot listen to another stupid excuse. That's all my childhood was Elsa, stupid lies and excuses about why I never saw you, and I refuse to do that again." She finishes with a shattered whisper.

I have to pull myself together. I have to stare down at my little sister, weeping, all because the ground is frosty and the air is chilled. My skin is pouring with power, the hall would be under five feet of snow had I let myself fall about like I wish I could. My mouth opens and I whisper vague promises to myself. I tell myself that I can be strong, that I will do what is right, and that this will all be worth it. Every promise that tumbles past my lips feels like a lie.

Heavy footsteps approach us, I do not dare look up to see what I suspect will be Han's livid face. "My god, what happened here?" It is Kasper, his voice softer and more compassionate than Hans's could ever sound. I cannot make a sound; my throat has dried up and closed over, prohibiting the ejection of false explanations. Before Kasper can stop her Anna flees, her feet nearly tripping over themselves as she runs blindly down the halls and away from me.

I cannot bring myself to look at him, I cannot force myself to speak to him, yet somehow I find the strength to throw my arms around him. He is startled at first, but wastes little time wrapping me in his arms. Nonsense bust from the throat, mingled bits of explanation, and half-formed phrases get blurted into his shoulder.

He is not saying anything; no claims that everything is ok, because it is not ok. He is not promising a better tomorrow, because I cannot fathom a world where tomorrow is any better than today. The one thing he is doing is holding me, one arm around my waist, so delicately as if I may break. The other up against my back, fingers splayed, a friendly pressure telling me that he is here and I can cry.

What Kasper must think, he finds me in the middle of the hallway, screaming at Anna and crying like a babe. I have scarcely felt more pathetic than I do now. All around us is snow, why is their snow inside? I shift my feet and discover that they are stuck with frost. Oh no, no, no. I pull myself from Kasper's grasp and survey the damage.

He's fine?

He has frosty clothes, but does not shiver and shake. Instead he looks at me with worry.

"What?" I stammer uselessly. "How are you not cold?"

"Elsa, I live farther north than you realize, every minute of every day is colder than the average man can imagine, I'm used to it." Kasper explains, with a vague sweep of his hands to indicate the snow in the hallway.

Of course, how did I not realize.

"Are you ok to go to dinner?" Kasper asks. "Hans sent me to find you, he's getting anxious."

I have forgotten about dinner, it slipped my mind and was replaced with shouting, screaming, and hugs that seem to perfect. "Dinner." My voice comes forth as a raspy whisper. "We should get going." My voice no longer speaks with the pain of my broken family, or my forced engagement. I have pushed the emotion from my mind and refuse to let it stray back in.

Kasper stares at me with a ludicrous expression, he can tell I am in no state to go to dinner, anyone could tell. I have to go to dinner though. Hans will have a field day if I skip a meal when we have guests to impress.

So I set out on my way ignoring the urge to run, the urge to leave, because I know those actions will be met with punishment, whether the repercussions reach me or my parents first is irrelevant. Kasper follows behind me with timid footsteps, as if he expects me to fall over crying. It is not unreasonable I suppose, I was crying, but I am not now. I cannot afford to cry. My chin rises and I keep my shoulders back. Anna may not be at dinner, but many other people are; people I have to impress, people I have to please.

As I push through the double doors to the dining hall I take in the room. The table is blessedly empty, meaning that I am still only fashionably late. My usual spot lies waiting; the chair on Hans's left. Hans having taken my previous seat at the head of the table after our engagement was announced.

Covering my limp with controlled strides and a mask of placidity I make my way toward the table, offer thin greetings to those who offer them to me and apologize for my tardiness. I slide in to my chair without trouble and Kasper does the same. Conversation starts and I allow my presence to be enough, people do not care what I say when Hans is around, they hang on to his words because he is to be the king, and I am the queen the he ignores unless the situation demands otherwise.

Kai and an army of scullery staff break out from the kitchens bearing countless trays. Roast beef and elaborate fish dishes are placed along the table. My eyes settle on the steaming bowl of mashed potatoes. The clatter of utensils fighting for food fills my ears. Gentle munching of jaws settles in to the room and I take several bites of fish.

The meal passes with little problem, Hans spearheads the socializing campaign and I play the part of a perfect, quiet wife. Kasper sends me several worried side glances, but I stare in to my plate, determined to ignore him.

"Elsa, honey, you were asked a question."

I jerk my head as Hans brings me back to reality with sharp sickly sweet words. A woman, Helen, is looking at me. "What flowers are you going to use as center pieces?" centerpieces? As if I would know anything about the centerpieces, I know nothing about my wedding; I have planned none of it.

Scrambling for an answer I mime chewing and swallowing some food. "Snowdrops, they are my favorite kind of flower." I know that the centerpieces will not have Snowdrops in them, Hans will have picked some awful bright flower; some kind that is too overpowering and fills the room with thick sweetness.

Helen nods and moves on to another topic with another guest. I allow my mind to wander, and for a second I imagine what my wedding could be like. Had I been given any say the planning I would have ensured it was a small intimate affair, outdoors of course, in the snow if I could time it right.

Soon enough guest start to leave, all of them eager to get on with their evening activities. I bid every one of them a pleasant evening with a forced smile that threatens to fall of my face. Before long it is just Kristoff, Kasper, Hans, and I.

"Has anyone seen Anna?" Kristoff has given up all pretence of knowing where Anna is.

I make to answer, but Hans silences me with a small wave of his hand, letting me know that I am not allowed to speak. My eyes meet Kristoff's, and for a moment I hold his gaze, wishing I could let him know I had seen her, wishing I could tell him I was sorry for doing this to her.

"I saw her." Kasper interjects before Hans can write off the question as inconsequential. "She was up by the library. She looked a little sad." A little sad is a massive understatement, but only Kasper and I know that. Kristoff heads of to find her, worried as he always is that something might have happened to her.

"Kasper." Hans begins once Kristoff has left. "Have you found the city to be to your liking?" His tone is casual, perfect, and controlled.

"Quite." Kasper replies, taking a sip from his glass of white wine. "The culture is rich, the food is good, and the wine is excellent." He says the words so casually, a little too casually.

"Very good." Hans muses. "I never acquired a taste for white wine, always preferred the red kind." He lifts his glass, sips carefully and deliberately then replaces the goblet on the table. "Does your country take part in much trade Kasper?"

"No, not very much, we can get by on what we have. The cuisine may be a little repetitive, and the clothing choices may be a little similar and dull without some of the exotic fabrics I have seen here, but we cope with it." Kasper smiles slightly as he reflects upon the quaint quirks of his home.

"Would you be at all interested in negotiating a trade treaty between our nations?" Hans asks, leaning back in his chair, staring at Kasper over the rim of the wine glass he has once again brought to his lips.

"I would not be opposed to such agreements." Kasper is wary now, clearly having no experience, or training the in the art of negotiating.

"We can work out some reasonable trades later perhaps." Hans allows Kasper so time to mull over the idea. He is trying to come off and a reasonable and friendly person. "I hope you continue to enjoy your stay." Hans seems to have abandoned all pervious malice he showed toward Kasper on the night of our engagement party.

Hans is calling the shots now, and clearly feels more at ease when discussing something he is more accustomed to than Kasper. I note the way his hand stays on his wine glass, even though it is seated soundly on the table. His Hand is above the opening and traces cocky circles along the lip.

I gaze down at the empty place mat in front of me. With my food gone I no longer have an easy distraction from Hans.

"Elsa." Kasper is addressing me, his voice honest. "Are you ok?"

I stare up at him. I have never been less ok, but I'll be damned before anyone finds out. So I lie, I lie so easily. "Of course, there is nothing quite like a good meal to finish off a lovely day." The words do not feel like my own, they are not my own. I have never cared about good food, food is food. Why should how good it is ruin or make my day?

Kasper nods, clearly not believing me.

Has seems pleased enough with my answer.

"Elsa dear, it is getting late and you know how you get when you haven't had enough sleep." Hans prompts my departure. I jump at the opportunity to leave and clamor from my seat, scraping the legs against the ground and making altogether too much noise. For several steps I forget to mask my limp. I pass through the door way and in to the hallway before I remember that I am meant to be in perfect health.

I hurry thought the corridors, pretending that if I make it to my room within the next few seconds Hans will not be able to follow through twenty minutes later. My limp forces me to be slower than I wish to be. Regardless I still make it through my doorway in good time.

It is still raining, louder here than in the dining hall. The noise drowns out my frantic breathing. Today has not been a good day. Anna hates me; she hates me without reserve, and for good reason. She has every right to yell, scream, and demand an explanation, but I cannot give her one without risking the lives of our parents, and her own.

Eventually the inevitable occurs. First I hear the soft sound of well-polished boots hitting the ground, then the smooth hand against the door knob. The elaborate wood work of my door swings away and reveals a perfectly poised Hans. He is particular about what people get to see. If anyone were to happen upon this sight it would seem so innocent, he is just here to say goodnight. I wish with a thousand falling stars that he was only here to say goodnight.

I must have made a mistake during dinner, or maybe I was later than I thought. It must be that, I was too late, my fight with Anna happened in a daze and I cannot be sure how much time it ate up. My shoulders tense at the door closes behind Hans, the moment that door closes is the moment I am entirely at his mercy.

"Elsa, what have I told you about being on time. You wouldn't want our guests to think badly of you, would you?" Han is angry. I can see it in the pressure of his steps, and I can sense it in the base of his spine. His posture is aggressive; he could leap at me with the pressure coiled in his back.

I start to apologize but he cuts me off. "And your parents, what would they think if they knew you took this situation with such a lax attitude that you dare be late to dinner."

He has paced around my room while issuing his warnings, but now he comes to an abrupt stop in front of me. "Should I tell them?" He stares at me with mock innocence. "Should I tell mummy and daddy that you don't care about them enough to be on time for meals? Do they mean that little to you?"

I cannot stand to hear those vile thoughts spoken aloud by a man who had no right to so much as think them. "Shut up." My voice is nothing more than a weak whisper, but I know that what I have to say after will be stronger and louder. "You will not say such things; you know that they are not true."

"Don't." Has warns.

"Do you want to know why I was late? I was fighting with Anna, she doesn't believe this." I want to scream the words, but know that it would attract too much attention from other residents of the castle.

"Clearly you're not doing a good enough job." Hans retorts. "Your acting is poor at best; I've seen whores who were better at faking."

"You snivelling bastard. I've driven my sister away from me because of you. What more do you want."

My behaviour earns me a rare sharp smack to the cheek. Hans has typically been careful about leaving visible bruises.

"I don't want to hear another word from you. Ok?" Hans does not leave me time to answer before continuing. "Your sister doesn't matter; I am the one who can lop of your fathers head with a flick of his wrist. That's right, I have men watching me all the time, and they know exactly what to look for, all I need to do is give then the signal and you don't have a daddy anymore."

My eyes meet his ruthless green ones and in a fit of rebelliousness I say things I instantly regret. "You're a bastard. I don't know where our parents went wrong, but somehow the turned you in to a shallow breath of what a real man is, you will never be a king, even if through some fluke you get the title you are not capable of running a country, you would need far more common sense than you have."

Hans does not lose his head as I thought he would, but instead whispers softly in to my ear. "You may think I lack common sense, but you're the one with a fresh bruise on her cheek and a sister that wishes you dead."

He leaves without any other words or slaps, no hits or kicks. I consider myself lucky as a force myself to get in to bed, telling myself that everything will be fine and I am worry too much about so little.

My sheets are smooth and reassuring against me and my pillow eases my head from a long day. It occurs to me that the soothing rhythmic pounding of rain is comparable only to the silence of snow.

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**So, what did you think? I have most of the next chapter written (which happens to be the wedding) so I'll upload that on Tuesday. **

**Thank you to everyone that Favorited and Followed. **

**Thank you trooper17 for reviewing. **


	17. Chapter 17

**Hi, I don't really wanna spoil anything, so just read.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own frozen.**

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I wake up far too early. My mind snaps from a dreamless sleep and into the world without a moment to adjust. Fingers clutch my chest, looking down I realize they are my own. My heart is beating so fiercely that I can feel the quick pulses under my fingertips and hear then rushing about in my ears.

With several moments my breathing and my heart return to normalcy. I search the room for a reason to my abrupt, panic driven, awakening, but find none. My windows are all shut and locked. As is my door, though I am not foolish enough to think that those obstacles would deter Hans from breaking in to my room as I sleep. They only serve as confirmation that he has not attempted such tonight.

Then I spy the dress. It sits on a form, mocking me with its tight stiff fabric. My wedding is in several hours. I suppose that was the cause of my rude awakening. The awful ring on my finger has become rather heavy as this realization crashes over me. I do not want to get married, not to Hans.

I allow myself one moment of weakness as a give out and fall against my mattress and let out a strangled cry. My fist bunch up in my blankets and I am overcome with the urge to never move again, to stay in a fortress of pillows and silky sheets for the rest of my life. Knowing that I will have to get up a pledge myself to a man who has my parents locked up in a cell is enough to make me lose my head.

With time the sun rises and even eyes squeezed shut cannot blot out the start of the day. My legs protest as a drag myself across my room toward the dress. It as if my entire body is fighting against this wedding, as if it knows how bad of an idea this is and how it can end only in pain.

I struggle into the dress, wishing for an extra set of hands as my feet get caught in the folds of fabric and my elbows make it nearly impossible to shimmy in to. If only Anna was here, shouldn't she be part of my wedding? Too bad she cannot stand to be near me.

My heart struggles to maintain composure. With my dress plastered to my frame and displayed on the mirror in front of me I feel so alone. I am an idiot, I drove away my sister on the vague hope that I would get my parents back. How could I not though? If Anna had any reason to think that I had forgone our parents to selfishly keep her friendship she would hate me more than she does now, if that is possible.

Falling, my feet are falling against the ground as a pace through my room. Can I really do this? Will I be able to force myself down the aisle without so much as a friendly face beside me? Anna refuses to attend, my father cannot, and neither can my mother. The three most important people in my life will not be at my wedding, one by choice and the others by chains.

My dress itches. Is that a quality associated with all wedding dresses, or only the ones a person is forced in to via blackmail. Everything is tight and itchy, even the chest feels constricted and tense. Though I fear that has less to do with the dress, and more with what I am about to do in it.

A sharp rapping comes from my door and I shore up my posture and keep a hard mask of peace on my face as I allow the knocker to enter my room. Gerda walks in. She has a somber expressing hidden underneath her smile. She was present and well aware of the events following my coronation. She knows exactly how they played out and must know that there is more to this wedding than meets the eye, because she has never said anything about it aside from small pleasantries and simple conversation when Hans is present.

She does not waste her time offering me worthless chatter; we both know that a few false words will not make this any better. I watch her as she steps across my room and reaches for the gloves I have left folded on my desk. They are a necessary evil.

Holding them out in front of me she says two small words that do not help at all, but are appreciated nonetheless.

"Good luck."

I want to fall, I want for my legs to stop working and never move again. I want my head to be lopped off by a sword, anything that will postpone this wedding for even a day. Gerda watches as a take the gloves and slide them on. I suppose they fit like their namesake if only for the fact that they are actual gloves; in reality they are too tight, too constricting.

With a final glance at my room and my life without Hans as a husband I step through the door. Each step is torturous. My stomach feels as if it is going to fall out of my throat. I count myself lucky that I could not manage to even think of having breakfast, had I eaten anything I am sure it would be on the floor by now.

This is it, I'll walk in to the cathedral, the same place I had my coronation. Thousands of eyes will watch me, eyes I do not know and do not love. Then I well walk, I hope I can be strong enough to take proud defiant steps, but I know they will be shaky and weak. I doubt good fortune will keep me from tripping.

Hans decided that I will not have to privilege of being given away, not by my father, not by my mother, not even Anna was considered. He seems more and more fixated on sending a message, as if walking down an aisle alone will make me give up a submit to his will completely. Though my feet may shake I will look him in the eyes with a steely resolve. I will never give him the pleasure of seeing me break.

Gerda stops me; her hand reaches for my elbow, likely and attempt at comfort that she thought better of. I cannot help but think her trepidation wise. My powers feel as though a soft breeze could set them off. Though I am wearing gloves they no longer offer much protection, my powers have evolved past them, and now they only serve as to put others at ease.

Her face it somber as she hands me a bright cheery bouquet which I am forced to take with me.

Horrid organ music has begun to play, that is my cue. Wishing I could muster the energy to offer Gerda a kind smile I push past the double doors of the cathedral. Every head in the citadel turns to face me. Some faces have happy tears running down them, some wear soft kind smiles. I wish I could shout, scream, and explain to everyone why this is happening.

Turning my gaze away from the unjustly excited guests Ilook see Hans and the bishop waiting for me at the end of my death march. Hans is dressed in the colors of the Southern Isles, his formal coat pressed and starched. Light glints off of his polished gold cuff links and the buttons of his jacket.

I am sure if my shoes fell off they would reveal lead feet, my knees rebel and my ankles threaten to snap. Walking suddenly seems impossible, but I have to. Hans's eyes are threatening, with everyone watching me he is free to drop the mask of graceful humility and take on his more threating identity. My grasp tightens on the bouquet.

After what feels like far too long and far too many steps I reach the base of the altar. My palms are slick with a panicked sweat and my pulse thunders through my ears. I take the last step towards hell and turn to look it straight in the eyes. Handing off my bouquet to someone by my side prompts the bishop in to starting the ceremony.

He paddles on about love, devotion, sanctity and many other things I wish I could listen to, but Hans is watching me. His eyes sharp and deadly, taunting me, reminding me that this is the end, that I have given up and will not know happiness ever again.

The ceremony continues on and I continue to ignore it. I have to force myself to breathe. Taking in air has suddenly become a chore I feel far too tired to continue with. My chest in tight and tears threaten to spill from my eyes, I cannot tell whether they are tears of sadness, or rage. I am inclined to believe it is a mixture of both.

Hans finished off his vows and flashes me a triumphant smile. The bishop prompts me in to starting my own seeing as my mouth has decided to glue itself shut. "I Elsa, Queen of Arendelle, take you to be my-." The words sting and insult the air in which they rest so heavily. I glance away from Hans's face, desperate to see any other set of eyes. My mouth works on its own, pledging me to Hans on its own accord.

Anna? Why do I see Anna's eyes staring back at mine from a sea of anonymous faces? She does not smile, but her face is subtle and sincere, she knows that regardless of the groom this is my wedding. Her eyes do bear a hidden sadness; I wish I was not the cause of it. "-as long as we both shall live."

I let my voice fall away and silence claims the room for a moment before the bishop carries on with the ceremony. My hands have started to shake, I know what part comes next and I wish it would not. "Do you, Hans of the Southern Isles, take Elsa Queen of Arendelle to be your wedded wife?"

Hans turns to me and his face is the perfect mask of tender love and fierce devotion. "I do."

"Do you, Elsa Queen of Arendelle, take Hans of the southern Isles to be your wedded husband?"

This is it, the moment everyone is waiting on pincushions to hear. I have to say it, I know I do, but I wish with everything I am that I could do anything else. Anna's face swims in to my gaze again and I remember why I am standing here, and why I have not yet sentenced Hans to a long lonely life in prison.

"I do."

There it is, what is done is done. I can never take that back and I will never get the chance. Keeping Hans happy is my only goal now. If Hans has a placid smile on his face my parents get to struggle through another day.

The bishop pronounces us man and wife and I clench my fists just a bit tighter. Hans is facing me now, victory and arrogance displayed easily in his features. His hand comes to take one of mine while the other reaches back to rest against the small of my back. He has me trapped. With a spiteful glint in his eye he leans in a kisses me.

It is a short and chaste kiss, or that is want it must look like, I feel wholly violated though. He is too close and his breath is sour and hot. It is over fast, but still last far longer than I would wish. Somewhere in the back of my head, behind the relevant fears and terrors in the face of my married life I realize that I have just had my first kiss.

Han's pulls away and wastes no time turning toward the attendees and smiling a warm smile. He has won; he has well and truly won. I am his. The law now names me as his husband. We walk back along the aisle, his stride confident, mine weak and trembling.

I am swept up in congratulations the moment I walk from the room. Staff smiles at me and nobles offer sweet words and blessing of all sorts. A mass of hands and bodies corral me in to a lavishly decorated dining hall. I have to sit through another awful dinner, how spectacular.

Hundreds of dishes have been prepared and hundreds of eager mouths lay in wait. In a moment of grace and kindness Hans has seated me next to him at the head of the table. Our chairs are close, far too close. As we settle in to our seats I feel his thigh brush against mine and his arm comes to rest on it. He is keeping me under control, telling me that my parents are still very much as stake and if I want them to keep their heads I best keep mine.

The meal starts with a quick toast to our health and happiness by someone I do not know. Then the clatter of cutlery fills the room along with gentle conversation and chewing. Only a meal and a dance, then my duties will be done. I will be free to retire for the night and suppress my tears and terrors at the prospect of my future.

There is no flavor to the food I force down my throat. I am sure it had been cooked with the up most care and with the finest spices, but I am rather preoccupied with things other than slow braised ham. Anna is siting several seats away and has cast wayward glances at me while picking at some roasted vegetables. She looks out-of-place. The circles under her eyes are still all too present; her frame is so tiny next to the bulky dignitaries, she looks fragile.

Once bellies are full and the guest sedated Hans stands and announces that he and I are to have our first dance as a married couple, as is tradition in Arendelle weddings. My stomach clenches. I cannot dance, I do not dance. I am even more sure that I cannot dance with Hans's hand wrapped tight around my waist.

I do though. I Step away from the fortress that is my chair to stand in an empty dance floor with Hans. Hans has become the bane of my existence. My feet decide that I should just get this over and bring me closer to him. His too hot hands come to rest against the curve of my waist. The organ player starts up again, this time in the dining hall, and on a piano as opposed to the aforementioned instrument.

We step with awful rhythm. Every part of me is numb, I am getting are too used to the ever-present numbness. Hans is irritated; I can see the careful and always calculated look in his eyes give way to frustration. I am not dancing well enough. He pulls me close, the darkness in his eyes spreading to his other features now, his hand sharp and demanding on my back. Then his breath is in my ear. What could he possibly have to say at a time like this, in front of so many people? He takes a small breath and then speaks.

"I killed your father."

It is several steps before the words give way to their meaning. No, no, no. I have done everything asked of me without complaint. I sat though dinners, and played my part the best I could. Why is my father dead because of this? How will I ever tell Anna? They are her parents too and I failed them. I failed them.

My steps falter; Hans seems to have expected as such and manages to catch me by digging his sharp fingers in to my back. His eyes are back to kind and warm. I want to freeze him. I want him lying on the ground, nothing but ice. Though, I am not sure if I could freeze his heart given as I do not believe he has one.

I feel it boiling within me, snow and ice struggle to break free and wreak havoc among the guests and my new husband. Fora single moment I am tempted to let it. Then I remember my mother. She is still there, on a boat, alone. If not for myself I have to be strong for her. She cannot be anything other than scared, or maybe she is not. I have fond memories of her subtle and unyielding strength.

I have to dance for her.

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